GARY lANf
EVERYMAN CHESS www.everymanchess.com
I 11'.1 publi~hetl ill 2010 by (dOlHI'sler Publishers pic (formerly Everyman Publishers pi!), Northburgh House, 10 Northburgh Street, London EC1V OAT Copyright © 2010 Gary Lane The right of Gary Lane to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
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For Ryan and Jasmine
Everyman Chess Series
Chief advisor: Byron Jacobs Commissioning editor: John Emms I\ssistant editor: Richard Palliser Iypeset and edited by First Rank Publishing, Brighton. Cover design by Horatio Monteverde. Printed and bound in the US by Versa Press.
Contents
Introduction
5
1
Count the Pieces
15
2
Carryon Attacking
40
3
Direct Attacks from the Opening
58
4
Secrets of Success
94
5
Cashing in Your Chips
114
6
History Always Repeats Itself
140
7
Tricks of the Trade
170
Index of Openings
190
Index of Complete Games
191
Acknowledgments
With thanks to Bill Frost and Fran0 ollt'li ov('rlook('d by illlprov· ing plJ.yers, this is a proven method of winning more games. Quite simply you try to anticipate what your opponent is about to do next and then find a move that conceals a deadly trap if he just blindly carries on with his plan. I have used the predict-a-move method for years, and it has helped me win numerous games. For example: n/OV/'.
G.Lane-A.Ashby Torquay 1982
White to play Black has just played 31 ..."iVC3 and I was beginning to panic since the obvious idea is to play 32 ...Wiel next move. However, I used this knowledge to thin k of a trap if he carried on with the plan and came up with 32 b6!. My opponent loudly banged his queen on the board with the expected 32 ...Wiel, which allowed me the neat finish 33 J::f.xa8+ .i.xa8 34 "iVa7 mate.
7
Prcdicla-move is not only used for a mating combination, it is also an effective way to win material:
A.Sztern-G.Lane Canberra 2001
Black to play
I am on top here but wanted to make sure of victory before I was dragged into time-trouble. My first thought was 28 ... C4 with a discovered attack on the a7-rook by the bishop on d4, but after 29 ..ixc4 my own queen would come under fire. So I played 28 .. :~c6, pinning the knight on N, and my opponent did the obvious thing and moved his king out the way with 29 ~h2, allowing 29 ... c4! 0-1
whcn somconc plays SOIlH'\ II iIIg odd in the opening and you don't know how to respond; all too frequently authors assume the reader will know what to do just because they take such things for granted. However, I will make a point of showing any tricks and traps available in the annotated games, to make it easier to catch opponents out in the future. I think you should be on red alert if someone plays something completely different. This is the case in the following game where Black is an American renowned for his fine attacking style and innovation in the opening, but sometimes it can all go wrong:
Gamel A. Yermolinsky-E.Tate Western Open 2001 Old Benoni 1 d4 c5 2 d5 e6 3 ct:Jc3 exd5 4 ct:Jxd5 ct:Je7
5 ..ig5 h6!?
3. Pattern Chess The opening is the place where people can go seriously wrong, so it makes sense to be prepared to attack at the earliest opportunity. There are times
8
A slightly different move to the
',,,,~oI', I;
111.11 k lId', I (lIllI' lip witll till' idl'0I01lol1 illl) till' bi.,ltop bdCk ,I"d Lhe" Lrlldiny pieces. 6 ~h4 ~as+ 7 (3 01fS7 11 '>IH)III'd .1111.1111111 111'1. 14 ... exfS 15 Ybll-0 Moving the queen allows 16 .!dxb7
.Ind mate on d7.
How to Win Friends and Influence the Chessboard "One should respect a defeated opponent!" - Alexander Kha1ifman. Although I take a look at the role of psychology, of how it can influence decision making at the board and away from it, the emphasis is on the lighter side. Now that we expect to win many more games, I would expect a graceful response to questions from potential opponents. Always make them leave feeling that if they survive 25 moves in the next game that would be quite something. If they take an interest in your favourite chess opening, direct them towards a risky gambit and add knowledgeably that the resulting position with a two pawn deficit for them is 'interesting" and worthy of further study. Just to be serious, all I really mean is be polite. After all Vishy Anand is such a gentleman that everyone wants to help him, to the point where rivals Carlsen, Kramnik and Kasparov phoned him on Skype to lend him support and analysis in his 2010 match World Championship match against Topa10v. What you should not do is to encourage people to beat you by being a
b.ld 10·,I'r. '>01111' 1>1'01'11' rtllllll'r tlll'ir ()Illr.l~e ell losin~ and stride off after
the game without even bothering to help set up the pieces. This is not the right way to conduct yourself, especially as the consequence is that a long line of opponents will try even harder to beat you.
The Ultimate Reply to Any Onlooker "These things are not conducive to highclass play!" - Bobby Fischer recalling an incident to interviewer James Burke in 1972 when an onlooker whispered a move in his ear during an American tournament. I have seen all kinds of response to onlookers who misguidedly offer advice to stronger players than themselves when the players are analysing after a result. I have heard the master who kindly replied that the suggested move did have a lot going for it and he would have chosen it but for the loss of a queen. I think you should be polite, especially if you start getting the winning habit by attacking in more games. The most devastating reply that I know of was recorded by the English master Amos Burn in a letter dated from 1889. He wrote: "I once heard of Mr Schull, one of the strongest players we ever had in the Liverpool Chess Club, but who has now for some years been living in Waterdown, Dacota. Mr Schull was one
11
d,lY l,lkiny lunch dl lhe club when he
observed, at a little distance, a rather weak player engaged in analysing a particularly fine game that he, Mr Schull had played the day before. In the course of his analysis the weak player kept suggesting, as improvements on Schull's play, inferior moves which probably would have lost the game offhand. Mr Schull stood it as long as he could, but finally he could endure no longer, and turning on the offender he inquired in accents stern 'Mr ---, did you ever see a monkey examining a watch?'" I would only add that experienced players are usually more than happy to share views with players about a game, but a word of warning from my own experience: don't suggest a winning move while the game is still in progress.
the hook. The comments afterwarJ~ are normally of the kind: "I was a piece up, winning easily, and then I lost on time." It always sounds to me as though they are suggesting someone else should take the blame. I will give some pointers on how to reduce the number of occasions in which you are fighting against the clock as well as the pieces on the board. It is clear that time-trouble can cause all sorts of problems, which can lead to the ruin of a game:
J.Benjamin-B.Gulko US Championship,
Seattle 2000
Nothing Can Go Wrong Now At the end I have added a chapter called Tricks of the Trade, giving guidelines on the practical side of chess and how to step up to a higher level. I discuss various issues, perhaps not directly linked to attacking, but which can alter the course of a game. The number one problem for a lot of players is running out of time. I have met many people who played the game of their life, some even claim to have been unstoppable, but they still lost. There is no point honing your attacking skills only to allow your opponent off
12
White to play
The former US Champion later recalled "In time pressure, I tried to weigh the consequences of 32 ~xf7 (unclear) and 32 'iVxe3 liJe4 (probably a draw). Suddenly I had a brainstorm." 32 ~xe3?? 'iVb2 mate
111I'f(' .If(' ,I 101
(If III·opl!' wllel
('X(
(,I
.11 Illill ot t.lpid !join!!'., Ilul f,lil mihl This is the sort of mysterious move that can make people wonder how to emulate the stars. However, if you look at a lot of background games in this line then it should come as no surprise. The idea is that the king gets out of the way in preparation for f2-f4, when annoying checks or pins on the gl-a7 diagonal will now be avoided. 8... i.e7 9 f4 d6 10 ct:Jxc6 bxc6 11 'iHd3!?
The queen is ready to swing across to the kingside when required. The slight difference, compared to the standard manoeuvre 'iHel, is that White also has the option of the h3square to carryon attacking in the middlegame. In other lines White tends to play i..cl-e3 an early stage, so Short is taking advantage of the situation. 11 ... 0-012 b3
18
White does not want to hurry lo move the queen, so the queen's bishop needs to be developed and a fianchetto is appropriate in this case. 12 ... i.b7 13 i.b2 c5 14 :c!.ael :c!.ae8 This is a good demonstration of Black conducting a reasonable-looking defence - as you would expect from one of China's best players. Still, even if you are not sure by now of how to breakthrough, the idea of counting the pieces allows the rest of us to try and guess Short's intentions by just adding more pieces to the kingside. 15 'iHh3! In his comments afterwards Short revealed that this was the hardest move of the game because he offers up a pawn without having a conclusive follow-up. Nevertheless, a key factor in his decision making would surely be that all his pieces are well placed for a kingside attack, which means once again that he will have a lot of tactical opportunities. 15 ... ct:Jxe4! Black accepts the challenge and grabs the pawn. If instead: a) ls ... i..xe4 16 ct:Jxe4 ct:Jxe4 17 i.d3 dS 18 i.xe4 dxe4 19 :c!.xe4 and White has the better chances. b) lS ... dS 16 eS ct:Jd7 17 i.d3 gives White promising play. 16 i.d3 ct:Jf6 The knight returns to f6 to protect against mate on h7. After 16 ... dS White can regain material equality with interest: 17 ct:Jxe4 dxe4 18 i.xe4 i.xe4 19
U)(f'tl ~clH
(01
101'''1011
',,"11
,I',
by 20 .L'!.xe6 winning) }() ~e31 and White has an edge thanks 10 the superior pawn structure. 17 )de3 I 'J. .. :lldH? i',
~IJ
il
quit kly
IlIOVl'
JJlIIli .. lled
yG 21. ~C3 f6 22
This fits in well with the general strategy of adding more pieces to the attack because White is now in a position to move the rook along the third rank to help influence matters. Indeed, the threat now is a combination very similar to the one I outlined at the start of the chapter in Kwiatkowski-Gregory. 17 ttJdS?! is harmless in view of 17 ... i.xds 18 i.xf6 g6 19 i.xe7 .l::txe7 20 ..ixa6 (otherwise White is just a pawn down) 20 ... .l::ta8 and Black has the advantage. I suspect Black had been focused on the tactical line starting with 17 ttJbS which unveils a discovered attack on the king's knight, but in this case Black should be fine; e.g. 17 ... axbs 18 i.xf6 g6 (or 18 ...h6 19 i.xg7 'it>xg7 20 ~g4+ 'it>h8 21 ~S i..xg2+ 22 'it>gl 'it>g7 23 ~g4+ and a draw is the best White can
lIopl' 1(1) IIJ'1<XI'/ (illxh7 21 .l::th3+ 'it>g8 22 .l::th8 mate. In his notes to the game Short does his best to prove that White also has plenty of attacking chances after 17 ... h6 18 .l::tg3 (threatening to take on h6) 18 ... 'it>h8 and then:
a) 19 .l::txg7 looks good but is really a silent draw offer; i.e. 19 ... 'it>xg7 20 ~g3+ 'it>h8 21 ~3 'it>g7 22 ~g3+ 'it>h8 23 ~4 and the game will soon be drawn. b) 19 ttJdl! .l::tg8 20 ttJe3 ~d8! (20 ... dS? loses to 21 i.xf6 i.xf6 22 ttJg4, intending to take on f6 or h6) 21 .l::tgS! ~a8!! (the only way to save the posi-
19
tion considering that 21...l!ef8? runs into 22 i.xf6 i.xf6 23 I:ths and again White will take on h6, winning) 22 .l:!.f3!! i.xf3 23 gxf3 'iVd8 (or 23 ... dS 24 ..ixf6! ..ixf6 2S ctJg4! ..ixgs 26 fxgs and the attack is overwhelming) 24 .l:!.hS! ctJxhS 2S 'iVxhs i.f6 26 'iVxf7 eS 27 'iVg6 e4 28 fxe4 i.es (28 ... i.xb2 allows 29 es! threatening mate on h7) 29 fxes dxes 30 ctJg4 with a big advantage. c) 19 .tCl!?, with the idea of f4-fS followed by sacrificing on h6, would also be tricky for Black to answer. 18 ctJdl The bishop on b2 is revealed, ready to strike at the black kingside. Meanwhile the knight can manoeuvre to g4 via f2 in order to make the most of the slight weakening of the pawn shield now that a black pawn no longer covers the f6 or h6-squares.
18 ... c4
A pawn sacrifice to distract White from the kingside attack. 18 ... dS has been suggested instead, but 19 i.eS 'iVc6 20 'iVh4! is good news for White. 19 bxc4 'iVcS
20
2ofS! The white pieces are well placed to wreak havoc on the kingside and the pawn advance is timed to inject some tactics into the position by further weakening the black pawn shield. 20 ... eS Black keeps the position closed and at least lessens the influence of the bishop on b2, but the downside is that White can exert intense pressure on g6. Other moves: a) 20 ... gxfS? 21 .l:!.g3+ ~h8 22 'iVh6 .l:!.g8 23 i.xf6+ i.xf6 24 'iVxf6+ .l:!.g7 2S 'iVxg7 mate. b) 20 ... exfs 21 .l:!.xe7 .l:!.xe7 22 i.xf6 .l:!.e6 23 'iVh4 'iVc6 24 .l:!.f3 (threatening 2S 'iVxh7+ ~xh7 26 .l:!.h3+ ~h8 27 .l:!.h8 mate) 24 ...hS 25 ctJc3 and White has all the winning chances. 21.l:!.g3 i.e4 It is clear that Short is preparing to sacrifice on g6, so Black attempts to thwart the idea. The pin with 21 ... .tc8 fails to impress after 22 'iVh6! with a very strong attack; e.g. 22 ... e4 23 i.xf6 i.xf6 24 .l:!.h3 with mate to follow.
12 i'\e]
(,ood pl.lllllillCj .Illollll·1 pic'(c' h .lIldc·h8 Black is playing a waiting game and moves his king out of harm's way, but WI"II' wOllld .... Iy Ih,lnk YOll
23
perhaps he should be a little more ',0011
trapped) 14 g3 iLh3 1513 as lem for Black is that he is struggling to find a decent plan, while White can steadily improve his position) 16 Wf2 .l::l.a617 .l::l.dl .l::l.b6 18 ~d3 ..td7 19 tLJd2 ~b2 20 .l::l.bll-0. 12 d6 White is doing the ultimate count the pieces scenario by trying to snare the black king after shedding material. He has a knight, queen and advanced d-pawn to aid the attack, whereas the majority of Black's pieces are still waiting to take part in the game. The point of 12 d6 is not only to promote the attack, but also to hold back a possible defence by locking in the bishop on c8. 12 ...tLJc6 If 12 ...~6 then 13 tLJb5! is very awkward for Black, since the logical 13 ... tLJa6? is crushed by 14 tLJ1C3! e6 15 tLJd5! exd5 16 ~e5+ and 17 ~xh8 mate. 13..td3 White brings another piece into the action and prepares to castle, which will enable him to add his rook to the offensive. 13 ... exd6 Ignoring the pawn on d6 just leads to more problems: a) 13 ...tLJb4 14 ..te4 tLJc2+? 15 ~dl tLJd4 16 ~e5! 0-0 17 ~g5+ ~h8 18 ~6 and the double mating threats against the rook on f8 and the pawn on h7 seal the result. b) 13 ...~d8 has been suggested, but after 14 O-O! I can't see how Black can
',IIIVIV('
III('
WH'(
k of
III',
PO·.ltltlil.
1\
'.. lIl1pl(' IIII(' IIIIl'. 11l .. J1.!'HI') .Ill'l bh H) H(') (it i., .lItt'.lIly t illll' for Black to go IIOIIll') lo ... ~b4 17 (/\dS ~as 18 dxe7+ Ilx(', (of course 18."c;\xe7 allows 19 ~( / mate) 19 ~f6 with mate soon to lollow. 140-0 l/)e5 15 j¥f6!
This looks like a fantastic position for White, and if it wasn't for the sacrif ices there wouldn't be any doubt ,Ibout it. As it is, we should once again count the pieces near the black king to make a judgement. It is easy to see that the queen, bishop and knight on c3 are already involved, while the rook is poised to join in the fun, Black's defensive task is extremely tough because his pieces lack harmony - three of them are still on their original squares, and his queen is far from the scene of action. 15 ... 0-0 1S .. J:tg8 runs into 16 ..txh7 l:.g4 (or ... 16 l:.f8 17 l:.e1 and White will soon force mate) 17 ~8+ cjJe7 18 lLldS+ We6 19 Vi'f6 mate.
16.'.'\d5 It i., ollwolY" nice to threaten mate in one move. Van der Wiel's position is bleak. 16 ...l:.e8 17 'iVgS+ lLlg6 A forlorn effort to try and stem the tide of non-stop attack, but the king moves offer no hope either: a) 17 ...cjJf8 18 ~6+ cjJg8 19 lLlf6+ cjJh8 20 'iVxh7 mate. b) 17 ... cjJh8 18 lLlf6 lLlxd3 19 ~6 Vi'xf6 20 Vi'xf6+ cjJg8 21 Vi'gS+ cjJh8 22 lLlc3 and White is easily winning. 18 lLlf6+ cjJf8 19 Vi'h6+ cjJe7 20 lLldS+ cjJd8 Or 20 ...cjJe6 21 Vi'h3+ fS 22 Vi'xfs mate. 21..txg6 hxg6
22lLlbc3! 1-0 A beautiful finale to a stunning game. The knight on c3 blocks the black queen, allowing White to win with Vi'gS+.
"But you tell the young people of today and they won't believe you." Monty Python.
31
Naturally there are still some doubters, who assume that this line of the Tromp would not stand up to the modern rigours of computer-assisted analysis, and that the opening specialists amongst the world's elite would not fall into the trap of being greedy. Really? So how come Alexei Shirov, who is in the world's top ten, tried vainly to refute Hodgson's play and ended up losing in humiliating circumstances after only 13 moves?
~houltl
1I.IVI' 11'11 Ill!' "oflw.ltl' Oil fOI more than afew seconds; it wcl~ ollly.1l
the board that he realized there wen' serious problems with his position and just sank into a deep, deep think. 11 ttJec3 'ilUb2 12 d6 'ilUc2?
Game 7
P. Wells-A.Shirov Gibraltar 2006 Trompowsky Attack 1 d4 ttJf6 2 iLg5 c5 3 iLxf6 gxf6 4 d5 'ilUb6 5 'ilUCl f5 6 c4 iLh6 7 e3 f4 8 exf4 iLxf4 9 'ilUxf4 'ilUxb2 10 ttJe2 'ilUxal
13 'ilUe3 1-0 Shirov was down to the last few seconds on the clock and was so disgusted with his position that he resigned. Black could find nothing positive and certainly 13 ...ttJc6 14 iLd3 ~2 15 0-0 is similar to the model example Hodgson-Van der Wiel above, except that here White has even gained a couple of moves thanks to the black queen wrongly going to c2 on move 12. "The use of computers has made people more sceptical and now they are more prone to go pawn-grabbing unless there is definite compensation." - Vishy Anand, World Chess Champion.
It later transpired that Shirov had briefly looked at this variation on his computer before the game and trusted the instant verdict of good for Black. He
32
Here is another chance to see how the Tromp can work wonders. In this case, the idea of creating a majority of
1'1c'11", 111'.11
IIII'
"1 11'"',111'1 ~llIq I', ,111.1111
111.1111' I·.I~II'I
by 111.11 k ql.lhhilllj ,} b I'.IWII in tht' 0pl'llilllj. I hi., bold cxcur-
by the black queen occurs in vari1111'> openings but is fraught with danql" for the defender. In a perfect world III.1ck will win a pawn, withstand the IH('ssure in the middlegame, and fiII.IIly win the ending thanks to the exI I,} pawn. The reality is that White will lI,>ually give up the pawn for the initiaI ive or a positional advantage that carI ics on into the middlegame. The trick lor the experienced player is often to Jlldge the best time to return the extra pawn in return for something more positional, such as a strong outpost for .I piece or even a possible counter.Ittack. '.11111
Game 8 V.Moskalenko-M.Erdogdu Ankara 2010 Trompowsky Attack 1 d4 ct:Jf6
2 .Jtg5 c5 Black again strikes out at the centre.
3 d5!?
Instead of playing 3 .Jtxf6 as in the two previous games above, White advances the d-pawn straightaway, creating a structure similar to the Benoni Opening. If Black does nothing special, one way for White to continue is with lLlc3 and e2-e4 to take control of the centre. 3... 'iVb6
1\11 1II\11I'I~t.III1J.lbJ(' J(''>pome to lhl' bic,hop sortie on g5, targeting the weak b2-pawn as a way of trying to refute the opening. 4 ct:JC3!
This gambit is designed to give White a lead in development in return for the b-pawn. There is still considerable debate as to which side is better, but in practical terms such positions are tough for Black to defend because White enjoys a strong initiative. 4... 'iVxb2 Erdogdu has little choice but to grab the pawn, as otherwise the queen is poorly placed on b6 where it hems in the black b-pawn. 5.Jtd2 After five moves White is already poised to win as long as Black conveniently goes wrong. The immediate threat is 6 .l:tbl 'iVa5 7 lLlb5, attacking the queen and threatening to plant a deadly check on the c7-square to win material. 5...'iVb6 6 e4 d6 Black prevents White from safely
33
playing e4e5. In II.Ndk.II11ltr.l I.Nij boer, Wijk aan Zee 2004, Black stopped the advance of the white e-pawn more abruptly with 6... es. There followed 7 f4 d6 8 lDf3 lDbd7 9 fxes dxes 10 iLC4, intending kingside castling with attacking opportunities, and White eventuallywon. 7f4 The long-term plan for White is still to play e4-eS at the right time, aided by lDgl-f3 and perhaps a rook on el, to force Black into a passive position. 7... e6 8 J:.b1
The queen is kicked away from b6 while also gaining time as White gets the rook into play. 8 J:.bl was promoted by the Trompowsky connoisseur Julian Hodgson and is now accepted as the best line for White. At the moment he is happy to develop the pieces and wait to see when the e4-eS push might be critical. In contrast Black has an extra pawn and the obvious plan of survival, although this is a tough call even for masters. 8...it'C7!?
34
Ill!' <Jlll'I'1I kl'('p" 'I"olld .lq.till·.1 1111' e4-eS advance. I\llto, H... ~dH 9 .ills I I White has the initiative; for instance, 9... .id7 (9 ... lDbd7 10 dxe6 fxe6 11 41f3, aiming to play lDgs to target the e6pawn, is encouraging for White) 10 dxe6 fxe6 11 es!? dxes 12 fxes lDdS 13 it'g4! with strong threats, the big one being it'xe6+ to exploit the pin on d7bishop, V.Moskalenko-E.Colls Gelaberto, Figueres 2009. glDf3 a6!? Black is wary of allowing ..tbS+, so snuffs out the possibility while also preparing to gain space with ...b7-bS. 10 dxe6fxe6
11 es!? White decides to exert maximum pressure to make sure that Black does not have time to catch up on development and safely castle kingside. The alternative is 11 a4 but it lacks the cut and thrust of the text which will force Black to defend accurately. l1 ... dxes 12 fxeslDg413 iLd3 It is a calculated gamble by the former Ukrainian champion to give an-
,dlIl'I P,IWII ,IW,W '.1111, II I', pll',~lbl(' Illi ,Itlyllll!' III "'.IIi", by llll( (' ,Hjolin l.()Ulll~
II IIj II", pi('Ll~~ lila l Wh ite must have ',111IH' attacking compensation. White Ir .. ~ five pieces in action compared to ill"[ two by Black and more telling is 11101 t fact that the king on e8 is likely to h(' marooned in the centre for some IlIlle.
13 ... tiJxes
14..te4! The bishop gets out of the way to ,Ivoid being exchanged on d3. Now the lwo pawn deficit is a little bit concerning, but it is still not obvious how Black will safely castle kingside because the 1l7-pawn looks vulnerable, which means the possible tactics must be increasing. 14...lLlbd7 Black belatedly tries to shore up his defences by getting more pieces into the game. The natural alternative 14... ~d6 is strongly met by 15 lLlxes txes 16 0-0 which presents Black with problems because the white attack seems to be everywhere; e.g.
lI) .... ~.xl1) 11 /
'.Y.'111 .':'-.db (11 ... ~('5 18 ~xb7 ~xb7 19 llxb7, threatening ~f3f7, gives White a clear advantage) 18 'iVhs+ Wd8 19 SLgs+ SLe7 20 l:i.f7l:i.e8 21 .l::rd1+ SLd7 22 SLxe7+ llxe7 23l:i.f8+ l:i.e8 24 'iYxe8 mate. 15 0-0 lLlf7?! The knight retreat is played with the idea of setting up a defensive wall and blocking the f-file to cater for kingside castling (at the moment the rook on f1 hinders that objective). It sounds good, but with so many white pieces converging on the black king there is understandably a way to thrive in such a position. Instead: a) ls ... SLe7 16 SLf4! 0-0 17 lLlxe5 l:i.xf4 (not 17 ... lLlxes? 18 'iVhs g6 19 'iYxes and Black can resign) 18 'iVhs! 'iYxes 19 'iYxh7+ Wf8 20 l:i.xf4+ 'iYxf4 21 l:i.fl wins the queen. b) ls ... SLd6 16lLlxes SLxes 17 'iYhs+ Wd8 (not 17 ... g6? 18 SLxg6+ hxg6 19 'iYxg6+ Wd8 20 SLgs+ and wins) 18 SLgs+ lLlf6 19 l:i.bd1+ .!td7 20 'iYf7 also gives White excellent play. c) ls ... lLlf6 might be the best chance, but 16 lLlxes 'iYxes 17 ~xb7 .!txb7 18 .l::i.xb7 is still promising for White. 16lLlgs The knight unveils the king's rook and ups the stakes by highlighting the plig ht of the black king stuck on e8. 16...lLlf6 16 ...lLlxgs is obliterated by 17 'iVhs+! Wd8 (or 17 ... g6 18 .!txg6+ hxg6 19 'iYxg6+ Wd8 20 .!txgs+ i.e7 21 .!txe7+
35
0Jxe7 22 ll(71) lH ~x951
~('l
1()
.il.xe7+ Wxe7 20 1lf7+ 0Jd8 21 jVg5+
and wins. 17.il.f4
This really emphasizes the idea of activating pieces as part of the attack. White can dictate what is going on, whereas Black still has the majority of his pieces on their original squares. 17 ... eS After 17 ....il.d6 White can continue in some style with 18 lZJxe6! .il.xe6 19 .l:!.xb7 lWd8 20 .il.c6+ ~f8 21 .l:!.xf7+ ~xf7 22 .il.xd6 and White is on top. 181ZJdS!
tllll·.ltlll .~.I / I willllill(j tlH' CjIJ(·(·tl. 19 0\xf7 '..i.'xf7 After 19 ... jVxf7 20 iLxeS the terrific pressure against Black's king's knight should prompt him to give up. 20 ..ixes ..ie7 21 ~hS+! ~g8 If 21 ... g6 then 22 lWgs will win a piece and the game. 22 ..ixf6 gxf6 23 .l:!.xf6! 1-0
"When you see a good move, wait and look for a better one." - Emanuel Lasker. In the next example Black tries to be too clever for his own good:
S.Karjakin-A.ShiroY World Rapid Cup, Odessa 2010
A stunning response; White ignores the threat to the bishop on f4 and embarks on a scheme to exchange the remaining defensive pieces so that he can steamroller in and deliver checkmate - a perfect example of the might of having a majority of pieces engaged in the onslaught. 18 ...lWd7 18 ... lZJxds 19 ..ixds lZJxgs 20 ..ixgs shows up the poverty of Black's play because there is no good defence to the
36
Black to play 36 .. :iYc3?? The idea is for White to take the bishop, after which ... .l:!.d2+ reveals a
ill',lllVl'!I'd ,111.11 k 1111 1111' '1"""11 ',I",HI,
Ib ... 't\V,14
(1IlV('111I1j
1111'
I" ('H
til(' righL WdY I() 11.1,,xh7 39 'iVe8 Wg7 40 'ilVe5+, lead11111 to a peaceful conclusion. J7 Hh8+! 1-0 A little magic appears on the board. White spots a forcing combination and ',lIddenly has three pieces vs. one on Ille kingside with the black rook and queen acting as spectators. Black re',igned due to 37 ... Wg7 (or 37 ... ..\txh8 38 'WIVe8+ Wg7 39 'ilVxh8 mate) 38 'ilVxe5+ f6 19l11h7 mate.
"'1'1,111')
i~
In the next game White steers her opponent away from standard lines into one laden with traps and eventu,Illy Black succumbs to the pressure.
Game 9
S.Oliver-S.Dierckens World Junior Championships, Yerevan 2006
French Defence e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 ttJc3 ttJf6 4 e5 ttJfd7 5 f.!Jf3 c5 6 dXc5 This sideline of the French has the merit of avoiding a lot of heavy duty main lines, and can still pack a punch against the unwary. It also avoided all of the Belgian's opening preparation. This is because, as her coach was not sure what lines Oliver played, he got it 1
"II() IIi', III'.Id Ih.ll .,IH' would pl.ly I'X .Idly Lhe SLlme ones as me, as I was her trainer at the tournament. As I tend to play 3 ttJd2, Black was nervous every move after 3 ttJc3!. 6 ••• ttJc6 7 iLf4 iLxC5 8 ..\td3
8 ...f6 This is an established idea as it makes sense to challenge the pawn on eS. There are various alternatives, a few of which allow White to win in the opening: a) 8 ... 0-0? (numerous players have walked into this trap - it seems to make sense to castle as soon as possible, especially if you are beyond your opening knowledge, buLl 9 ..\txh7+! Wh8 (9 ... Wxh7 10 ttJgS+ Wg6 11 'ilVd3+ fS 12 'ilVg3 is also good news for White, while 10 ... Wg8 11 'ilVhs 'se8 12 'ilVxf7+ Wh8 13 'ilVhS+ Wg8 14 'ilVh7+ Wf8 15 'ilVh8+ We7 16 'ilVxg7 is mate) 10 ..\td3 g6 11 'ilVd2 and White had a comfortable advantage in S.Oliver-V.Reid, Auckland Zonal 2005, thanks to her extra pawn and the vulnerable black king. b) 8 ...'i\Vb6 9 0-0 and now:
37
bl) 9 ... ~xb2l 10 0\b';1 (llll' klliqlll does an excellent job of trapping the black queen and threatening a matchwinning fork on 0) 10... 0-0 11 ..td2 (the standard Greek sacrifice with 11 ~xh7+! again looks strong, when 11...~xh7 12 ctJgS+ ~g6 13 'ilVd3+ fS 14 exf6+ ~xf6 15 .:tfbl is deadly) 11...d4 12 'ilVe2 and 1-0 in O.Gutierrez CastilloJ.Oliver Font, Palma de Mallorca 2009, since 13 .:tfbl will win the queen. b2) 9... ~e7 10 'ilVe2 a6 11 .:tabl 'ilVo 12 ~g3 hS?! 13 ctJxdS! (again producing tactics in the opening) 13 ... exds 14 e6 'i!Vb6 15 exd7+ ..txd7 gave Black a poor position in S.Oliver-G.Anuruddha, New Delhi 2007, because after 16 .:tfel it is not safe to castle on either side of the board. c) 8... a6 has a few supporters, although in LRogers-Ton That Nhu Tung, Kuala Lumpur 2006, White soon took control: 9 0-0 bS 10 .:tel (it could be argued that this position is equal) 10... 'ilVb6 11 'ilVe2 ctJd4 12 ctJxd4 ~xd4 13 tiJd1 (a well-known retreat in this line, to oust the enemy piece on d4) 13 ... ~b7 14 c3 ~cs 15 b4 (maybe 15 'ilVg4 is better, when lS ... g6 16 ~h6 gives White an edge) lS .....te7 16 ~e3 'ilVo 17 ~d4 ctJb6 18 ctJe3 .:td8 19 'ilVg4 g6 20 'i!Vh3 ctJc4 21 ctJg4 hS 22 ctJf6+ ~xf6 23 exf6 'ilVf4? (the losing move; 23 ... i.c8 was necessary) 24 .:txe6+! ~f8 25 .:te7 ~c8 26 'ilVg3 1-0. 9 exf6ctJxf6 100-00-0 11ctJe5
I like this idea of the knight going to eS because Black has to be careful not to
38
w.llk illlo .Illy loll tit', .llld it h ,II',() good positional COllI illlJ,ll iOIl.
,I
11 'ilVe2 has also been tried, to stamp control over the es-square and stop Black from contemplating the advance of his e-pawn. Then 11...ctJb4 12 .:tael ctJhS 13 ~gs ~e7 14 ctJes ~xgs 15 'ilVxhs ctJxd3 16 cxd3 led to equal play in T.Willemze-M.Clijsen, Tilburg 2006. Once again, it is a matter of taste. 11 ...ctJxe5
Black decides to exchange the influential knight. others: a) 11...ctJe4?! (a classic mistake that occurs quite frequently) 12 i.xe4 .:txf4 13 ctJd3! (this is always the move that Black missed in his calculations) 13 ... 'ilVf8 14 ctJxf4 'ilVxf4 15 ..txdS with a big advantage, M.Chandler-T.Rrhioua, Gibraltar 2004. b) 11...a6 12 'ilVe2 'ilVe8 13 ctJxc6 'ilVxc6 14 ~es with roughly equal play. c) 11...i.d7 12 a3 (White prevents a knight hopping on to the b4-square; 12 h3 d4 13ctJe2ctJds 14 ~g3 was roughly equal in S.Oliver-E.5chon, Brisbane
·'11111,) 1) ... .11> II ~dNI.',IiI', IIJ .~.,,', ~I'H I',
n,I!' 1
I.' \XI") I II
nx,",
oJ; !It, II Ut't'l
. IIIJ I H'~"x tIJ· ..ix tIJ 1!) 'fit') 'fit 7 20 'fif3 (20 ... g6 is fine for Black) 21 x1i71·1 <J.;xh7 22 'tIVd3+ g6 23 'iVxd2 'it>g7 ,'IJ Ue3 ~f4? 25 ct:Jxd5! 1-0 p.stimpson" I lil\cigh, British League 2005. 12 .~xe5 ct:Jd7? A logical move by the Belgian interlI,dional to get rid of the dark-squared I""hop, but it receives a fierce reply. 13 ~h5! .;. tiN oii
It is time to count the pieces: the ,Iddition of the queen to the pair of bishops lined up against the king means Black is in trouble. 13 ••• h6 An obvious way to meet the threat to h7, safe in the knowledge that 14 ~g6 is refuted by 14... ct:Jxe5. Nevertheless, 13 ... g6 is the best chance in the circumstances, when 14 ~xg6! is met by 14 .. :iVe7, so that after 15 ~d3 ct:Jxe5 16 'iVxe5 White is a pawn up but Black
.Iv()id~.I11
irlltlH'di,II('
dh.l~l('r.
14 iLxg71 The flimsy black pawn shelter is shattered and White has a crushing position. 14....!:!.xf2 Of course 14... Wxg7 runs into 15 'iVg6+ Wh8 16 'iVh7 mate. 15 '!:!'xf2 ..txf2+ 16 'it'xf2 'iVb6+ 17 'it'e2 'it'xg7 1S .!:!.f1! Cutting off the king's escape path is the quickest way to force mate. 1S... ct:Jf6 19 'iVg6+ WfS 20 'iVxf6+ 'it'eS 21'iVfS+ 'it'd7 22 .!:!.f7+ 'it'c6
More evidence that a king hunt is only fun for the person attacking. Black is only carrying on because she can't quite believe that she been completely lost since move 13. 23 ..tb5+ 'iVxb5+ 24 ct:JxbS 'it'xbs 2S .!:!.C7 1-0 "All I want to do, ever, is play chess."
- Bobby Fischer.
39
Chapter Two
Carryon Attacking
"Chess laws are ruled by logic and only if the beginning of the game is irreproachable can other phases of the game create from it a beautiful, perfect whole." - Svetozar Gligoric.
Using the count the pieces formula to make an instant assessment of the position works well when attacking a king stuck in the centre or when both kings have castled on the same side. However, an attack on an oppositecastled position requires a more subtle response because much usually depends on advancing pawns to help the attack. The difference is that if both sides have castled on the same side a pawn advance in front of the king will be swiftly met, in time-honoured fashion, by opening the centre as a way to exploit the exposed king. When players have castled on opposite sides a slightly different approach is required; here are some guidelines that can be successfully applied in such circumstances: 40
1. A pawn attack rewards the person who gains the initiative.
This is because, as soon as the advance of pawns looks threatening, the defender must abandon his own plans of counter-attack to cope with the onslaught. 2. Can the pawn storm be easily stopped?
There is no point blindly advancing the pawns only for them to be blocked and picked off one by one. If the opponent can easily anticipate an advance of pawns and halt them, the result may well be a dour defensive task in looking after the extended pawn chain. 3. When advancing your pawns be ready to take time out to make some defensive moves.
It is all very well to listen to stories that pawn storms are a race against time, but you often need to take a more realistic approach. If you can see a way to defend which will delay your oppo-
11",,1'., OWII .111.11 k 1111 '.11111" 111111' 1111'11 I... pi .If II! ,II ,11111 'III fIII II
df'V!'lop"1l'1I1 of Ili~ pi!'!!''>, 1l1,lIk kl'I'P~ II i', opt iOIl'> open depending how White rl'~ponds,
4 Avoid boom or bust. II.' •. lIdul in an all-out attack that you dllll't <jet carried away and make drasII. f Il,mges, such as sacrificing a piece, 1I1I'1f'ly in the hope that you might get 1111 ky, If it fails, you lose. A more 11111\Hjhtful approach is required, rely111'1 on calculation and some positional IlIdqement. ~. Watch the clock. 11"1l1cmber that a perfect attacking ',II.ltegy is not much use if you are dllwn to the last two minutes and can't Illliow it through. So speed up - and IIlf'Tl others won't have to listen to the '.lIniliar story "I was winning ... but lost 1111 time."
Game 10 V.Anand-K.Ninov World Junior Championships, 8aguio City 1987
Sicilian Defence 1 e4 c5 2 ttJf3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 ttJxd4 a6 This is known as the Kan Variation .tlterthe Russian 1M, Ilya Kan (1909-78) .llld is one of the most popular lines of Ille Sicilian. At a basic level it prevents White playing ttJbS and prepares a queenside pawn advance with ... b7-bS, Nowadays it is renowned for being a lIexible choice because, by delaying the
5 .id3 .ltc5 6 ttJb3 i.a7 7 ttJC3 ttJc6 8 iVe2 The queen is moved to prepare queenside castling and, more importantly, i.c1-e3 so that if the bishops are exchanged on that square the queen can take back and avoid doubling the e-pawns. 8 ... d6 9 i.e3 .ixe3 I have taken on others in this position and the resulting positions from the opening are encouraging: a) 9 ...ttJf6 10 f4 (10 0-0-0 is a reasonable option to keep Black guessing as to the true intentions of the bishop on e3) 10... 0-0 11 ~xa7 l:txa7 12 0-0-0 eS 13 fS bS 14 g4 with a doubled-edged position, G.Lane-G.Nakauchi, Sydney 2010. b) 9 ... ttJge7 10 f4 0-0 11 0-0 bS 12 ~xa7 l:txa7 13 a3!? (maybe 13 iVe3 is the right way to proceed, keeping an eye on a7-rook, and if 13 ... b4 then 14 ttJa4 is strong with the knight heading
41
for ttl!' h()"qll.II(~) U ... lb 14 ',.t'1l1 ~;\(jb
15 P.:.adl ~b6 16 'tIfh5 01ce7 17 01e2 l:!.d8 18 Yf3 with a promising attack, G.Lane-R.5mith, Fiji 2007. 10 'iYxe3 tDf6 11 g4!?
At the time this was a new idea because people tended to play 11 0-0-0 and, after 11...0-0, 12 .1:.hgl and only then g2-g4. Anand's idea is based on avoiding using a move to support the g-pawn, so in other words no .1:.hgl. This logic is connected with the general rule already outlined that a pawn attack rewards the person who gains the initiative. One could also argue that it is not really a pawn sacrifice because 11...tDxg4 can be met by 12 'iYg3 tDf6 13 'iYxg7 .1:.g8 14 'iYh6, intending to castle queenside with a slight edge. Anand adds a comment about this position that reveals another intriguing general rule. In his collection of best games he writes: "when Black castles queenside in the Sicilian, White is better unless there is some mitigating factor, which is not the case here. Indeed, after 'iYe3 by White there is an
42
.Iwkw,lId WI',I""I",', 1111 III, .11111 IllI' dh pawn itst'li Ill,ly 111'1111111' vlllrH'I,lblr'
later." 11... bS
Black starts his counterplay on ttlbl (I reckon 15 'iYh3! threatening e4e5 is strong, and if 15".e5, then 16 tDdS 'iYd8 17 'iYh4 waiting to play f4-f5 with a dangerous initiative) 15 ... tDb6 16 tDd4 with an edge. 12 0-0-0 0-0 13 gs tDe8 The knight retreats but now it gets in the way of the other pieces. Instead, after 13".tDd7 White can try 14 .!te2 with ambitions to take on d6. In the Sicilian White does not always go after the d6-pawn because it can be a timeconsuming business that would delay the attack. In this case it is worth pursuing because the counter-attack by Black is sluggish. 14f4
II", IIIIII,IIIV(' by 1IIII'oIrillq 01 o.,l'dll' iii., rooks to the ,'II·,I.lUght. These factors simply inI f(·.lSC your tactical chances, so that IllI're should often be a breakthrough I'll'>sible: 111
Game 11 A.Adorjan-Z.Ribli Budapest 1979
Sicilian Defence 1 e4 c5 2 ttJf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 ttJxd4 ttJf6 5 0)C3 a6 6 i.e3 e5 7 ttJb3 i.e6 8 ifd2 "\bd7 9 f3 ~c8 10 g4 i.e7 11 0-0-0 ttJb6 12 h4 0-0 13 h5 ttJC4 14 i.xC4 ~xC4 15 g5 ttJd7 16 ~dg1 ifc7 17 g6 ~c8
18 i.h6!! White adds another piece to the attack and is more than happy for Black to take it, as that would multiply the attacking threats. 18 ...i.f6 Black has defend the g-pawn, otherwise White will get the chance to
pl.lyl I) Cjxil /1 '.i'xil / 10 llx~J /1 '.i.'IIB 21
Ilggll, threatening ~g7+ when .. :J.lh7 is met by ~h6+. Other moves: a) 18 ... gxh6 19 ifxh6 is overwhelming for Black who is struggling just to find a way to prolong the game: 19 .. .fxg6 20 hxg6 i.f6 21 ifxh7+ 'It>f8 22 g7+ with a massive advantage. b) 18 .. .fxg6 19 hxg6 hxg6 20 .l:!.xg6 i.f6 21 i.xg7 i.xg7 22 ~xg7+ 'It>xg7 23 ~g5+ 'It>f8 24 ~h8+ ~f7 25 ~h7+ ~f8 26 ~e7+ 'It>g8 27 ifg7 mate. 19 gxh7+ 'It>xh7 20 i.xg7! Once again the Hungarian gives the bishop away to open more lines of attack. 20 ... i.xg7 21 h6 i.f6 21 ... i.h8 leads to a lovely mate after 22 ~g7+! i.xg7 23 hxg7+ 'It>xg7 24 ifg5+ 'It>f8 25 ~h8. 22 ~g2! 1-0
Black resigned in view of the astonishing 23 ifg7+ which will lead to mate. For example: 22 ....l:!.xc3 23 ifg7+ i.xg7 24 hxg7+ 'It>g8 25 ~h8 mate. "Adorjan himself looked like an ag-
45
.~ X(/,I
ing rock ~tur,\f!iky fluir unci Ilt'urcl
/ ... :;"d I (I .. .t.'\l!J H al .1:1b6 18 tbde2 .1:1b7 19 gs lbhS (as in the main game the knight halts White's kingside pawn advance, slowing down his progress sufficiently that Black has time to create a serious assault on the queenside) 20 ~d2 .1:1fb8 21 .1:1bl lbg3 22lbxg3 .1:1xb2! 23 i.d4 llxa2+ 24lbxa2 r(xbl+ 0-1 R.Bitoon-W.so, Philippines Championship, Tagaytay City 2010. 11...lbas This is the difference that catches some people out: Black is content to place his knight on the edge of the board rather than the more familiar es-square. 12 i.b3 bS III
AI 1,1.,1 Ill,\( k find., ,III opportullily to .. dvance a quecnsidc pawn to aid the attack. The b-pawn has a dual function in that it threats to oust the defending knight on c3 with ... bS-b4, while introducing the option of ...lbC4, itxC4 ...bsxc4 to open the b-file for the queen's rook.
13 g4 b4 The consistent approach, which is easy for the Englishman to spot as he is an expert on this line. 14lbbl The knight retreats out of harm's way. 14lbdS also allows Black to maintain an initiative after 14... lbxb3+ 15 cxb3 tbxds 16 exds (16 ~xdS i.bs 17 lbd4 e6 18 ~gs itf6 19 ~h6 ~c8+ 20 'it>bl ~a6 favours Black) 16 ... ~as 17 'it>bl.1:1fc8 18 .1:1cl.1:1bS (putting pressure on the ds-pawn) 19l::txc8+ itxc8 20 llcl i.b7 with the superior chances. 14...tbxb3+ is axb3 It is not safe to try 15 cxb3 because the knight on bl takes an escape square away from the white king, so that lS ....1:1c8+ wins a piece.
47
ls .. :~as
This theme of attacking with the queen in the Chinese Dragon is the perfect way to create danger at the earliest opportunity. By taking on b3 the black knight has allowed his queen to infiltrate along the a-file. 16 gSlLihs 17lLig3 White is hoping that his opponent will capture on g3 and then give him enough time to play 'iVh2. However, the general rule a pawn attack rewards the person who gains the initiative indicates that it is Black who has all the winning chances here.
II i., ,llw.lY., q()()d
III'W'.
III 11111'.111'11
mate, and here iL ,110,0 1ll'lp., Lo itllIJTOVI' Black's position because White mU'>1 now compromise his forces, and hi., dream of somehow attacking on the hfile has to be forgotten. 18 il.d4 Not 18 C3? il.a4! (a flashy way to win, though 18 ... bxC3 19 bXc3 'iVxb3 should also do the job) 19 bxa4 bXc3 20 lLixc3 il.xc3 21 Vixc3 (21 bxc3 allows 21 ... ~b1 mate) 21 ... ~fc8 and the white queen is pinned. 18 ...il.xd4 19 'iVxd4lLif4 The knight on f4 is handily placed, but White is oblivious to any danger and tries to resurrect his attack by advancing on the h-file. 20 h4 Itfc8 The king's rook is added to the onslaught and the immediate threat is 21 ... 'iVxb3, exploiting the pinned cpawn. 21lLid2 es!
The white queen is nudged out of the way to allow Black to wreak havoc. 17...'iVa2!
48
22 'iVe3
.') ~xll(, ", ""',WI,tr'd Ity .'.'
' ;' I'HI ,llId ',lIIp,i\illqly Willi,' II"', 111111,,1,'111(' III 11ll' Ihr('(11 01 2J, .. Ubb 11.lpping the 1/"1'('11, since 24 'iVxes 0\d3 and 24 c!lC4 ndH 25 'iVcS ~al are both mate. 12, . .l'!.xc2+1 1\ startling way to break through the white pawn barrier. It is not exactly ',llIprising that the tactics flow in 1I1,Ick's favour when you count the 1';I'ces targeting the white king. 23 ',?jxc2 .l:i.c8+ 241LJC4 .l:i.xc4+! The attack is relentless - this furIher sacrifice brings into play the only piece so far not to make a direct conIribution, which is the bishop. 25 bxc4 i.a4+ 0-1 White resigned in view of 26 cJtCl ~al+ 27 cJtd2 'iVxb2+ 28 cJtel lLJg2+ winning comfortably.
The emergence of China as a powerluI chess nation has been impressive. Nevertheless, even top players have their off days and here is one of them, in which Black is undone by a direct attack.
Game 13
Wang Hao-Zhou Jianchao Danzhou 2010 King's Indian Defence d41LJf6 2 c4 g6 3 f3 A strange-looking move, but it is based on various move-order tricks. One idea is that the Grilnfeld with 1
1..,11', (.Ill 1)(' IlIl'I by 1\ (xd', t.'\xdS 5 ('4, wlwl1 the dsknight has to retreat as there is no white knight on c3 to take. 3... jLg7 4 e4 d6 5 lLJC3 0-0 6 i.e3 White's plan is straightforward: he wants to play 'iVd2, 0-0, i.h6, followed by h4-hS looking for checkmate. Of course, it can certainly work well amongst casual players, but as you improve it is easy enough to adopt lines that thwart White's direct attack. 6...lLJfd7!?
It is a telling comment on this move that I could not find a reference to this idea when looking into older sources on the Samisch. That is hardly surprising because, although the knight retreat can work in some variations, here it just looks odd. Frankly, count the pieces and you can see that Black now only has the rook and bishop to guard against the expected surge on the kingside. My guess is that 6...lLJfd7 was inspiration at the board, either that or Black was lulled into a false sense of security by seeing that Rumanian grandmaster Nisipeanu has played it
49
before, though that w .. ~ ,I IOIlU Ii 111(' ago before he became a star player. One or two other grandmasters have given it a go, but with generally poor results. All the same, Jianchao Zhou is rated 2652 so he must surely have had some home analysis to wow his opponent. 7 ~d2 c5 8 d5
8 ...~a5!?
An early excursion by the queen. The argument for it is that White tends to castle queenside in this variation, so Black wants the queen ready and primed for the counter-attack; it also supports an eventual ...b7-b5. other moves were: a) 8... a6 9 a4 as (9 .. .tt:Je5 10 h3 f5 11 f44:Jf7 12 exf5 gxf5 13 4:Jf3 gave White an edge in M.Zainea-L.Nisipeanu, Rumanian Team Championship 1995, as Black's pieces lack harmony) 10 4:Jh3 4:Je5 11 4:Jf2 f5 12 f4 (12 .ite2!? also seems reasonable, intending to castle kingside) 12 ... 4:Jf7 13 ..te2 e5 14 dxe6 ~xe6 15 0-0 4:Jc6 16 4:Jb5 led to brighter prospects for White in
50
V.R,lil ('viI (I.
0\dSIl)\xdS 17 hxg6l)\f6 1H gxh7+ 'j,hH 19 ~xf6 mate. b) lS .. .'~Jbd7 is met by 16 dxe7! lleH 17 hxg6 fxg6 18liJds 'Yi'b7 19 iLxc4 (the threat of discovered check is lethal) 19 ... ~h8 20 liJxf6 liJxf6 21 'iVf8+ and wins. 16liJh3 There are times when you just need a quiet move to improve your position and this is the case here. The knight prepares to leap to gs and Black's counterplay on the queenside is invisible. 16 ...liJbd7 Or 16 ...liJxhs 17 liJgs liJf6 18 liJxh7 liJbd7 19liJxf6+ liJxf6 20 'iYh8 mate. 17liJg5
17 ... l:tbS
15 ... e6
Black is in trouble:
52
The desperate attempt at survival with 17 ... gxhs allows the clever mating combination starting 18 liJxh7 liJxh7 19 l:txhS liJdf6 20 l:th3 when Black can do nothing to prevent the threat of l:tg3+ and 'iilVg7 mate. lSl:td21-0
1111' Kllllj'., IlIdl'!lI I )rofl'llI 1'1',01 11111'111
thilllJ. 1111' !jU!'t'lI move,> up lo ,>upporl
1 d4 lLlf6 2 c4 g6 3 lLlc3 iLg7 4 e4 d6 5 f3 0-0 6 i.e3 a6
iLe3-h6, exchanging Black's defending bishop, followed by h2-h4-hS. 7... c68 h4 White makes certain that Black is aware of his attacking intentions. The alternatives 8 0-0-0 and 8 iLd3 are also worth investigating. 8... es This is a well-known idea in the King's Indian. It puts pressure on the centre in an effort to dissuade White from playing iLh6 because the black pawn will capture on d4. 9 hS?!
Do not be fooled by this innocentlooking pawn: the idea is to combine it with ... c7-c6 and ...b7-bS to initiate activity on the queenside. Consequently, White is often put off from castling that way, because Black has already made preparations for a counterattack. 7 'iVd2 The good thing about this line for White is that you can carry out the standard plan against just about every-
A gamble that ignores the general rule "can the pawn storm be easily stopped?" because clearly Black can just take it without harming his kingside pawn barrier. White would argue that at the price of a mere pawn he can open up the h-file for his king's rook. The direct 9 iLh6 is less than effective when Black can capture in the centre; for instance, 9... exd4 10 iLxg7 dXc3 11 'iVh6 cxb2 12 Mbl Me8 13 Mxb2 lLlbd7 winning.
I
1I',tOIIl!" for Whilt', lholl'lll
Y()II
IIIICjhl
know it from that performance. In 01 bid to redress the balance here is anlit her encounter in the Samisch VarialI()t
I ion:
Game 14
Y.Razuvaev-I.Sokolov Tilburg 1992 King's Indian Defence
53
9... l))xh5 10 l/)ge2 The lunge with 10 g4 is premature in view of 10 ...tDg3 11 z:th2 4Jxfi 12 ~xfl tDd7, when Black has nothing to fear on the kingside and is a pawn up. 10 ... exd4! 11 .txd4 Normally White prefers to take with the knight because the bishop aims to occupy the h6-square and so is needed on e3, but 11 tDxd4? allows 11 ...tDg3! 12 .l:!.h2 tDd7 with the better prospects. 11... tDf6 12 g4 C5! Black pushes the bishop out of the way so his own dark-squared bishop will have more influence over the h8-al diagonal. It also signals an intention to install a queen's knight on d4 which is a feature of the King's Indian. 13 .te3 tDc6 Apart from going to d4 Black is now contemplating ... tDes to target the C4 and f3-pawns. 14 tDg3?! I think White should try 14 0-0-0, though 14... tDes! admittedly favours Black. 14... tDd4!
I hI' klliqhl i., wry wI'1i pl.1t l'tI Oil till becduse il reslricts lhe opponent' ... It tivity. Nevertheless, Black has to hI'
careful not to waste time since the semi-open h-file provides White with plenty of attacking opportunities. 15.te2 Razuvaev would be reluctant, in any case, to enhance the power of the g7bishop by exchanging on d4, but here there is also a tactical reason to avoid the urge to grab a pawn: 15 .txd4?1 cxd4 16 ~xd4? tDxe4! 17 ~xe4 .l:!.e8 and the white queen is pinned; while 16 tDce2 is slyly met by 16 ... ~C7 to put pressure on the c4-pawn, and 17 tDxd4? runs into 17 ... dS revealing a discovered attack on the knight stationed on the g3-square. 15 ... .l:!.e8 A little ploy which features in various openings: the rook moves sideways out of harm's way so that the threatened .te3-h6 can be met by a retreat, preserving Black's dark-squared bishop.
16 .th6 .th8 17 .tg5
17 tDfS!? looks impressive and
54
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1)(' ,I dfl'.lIIIIIIIIII' 11111'. IllIwl'vl'r. knight on f5 dOl", nol l"I'''I'nt any 1IIIIlIcdiate problems. 50 l3IClck can just Iqrtore it and carryon advancing on the queenside: 17 ... b5! 18 ct:Jxd4 cxd4 19 /'\ \11)
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xdl ttJg4 Black manages to regain one pawn, when his active pieces and the exposed white king give him some compensation for the material deficit. The knight to f3 is certainly an im-
64
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W.Ward, Sheffield It',I~lI(' .mOb, whit II saw 6 iLe3 0)c6 7 c3 exd4 8 iLxd4 t/\xd~ 9 iYxd4 ~xd4 10 cxd4 .i.b4+ 11 0\( , 0-0-0 12 0-0-0 and now, instead 01 12 ... ttJg4? 13 ttJh3 with advantage t(l White, Black should have played 12 ....txc3! 13 bXc3 ttJe4! when th(' threats to c3 and f2 make the differ ence, with decent chances despite th(' material deficit. 6... ttJc6 The alternatives do not inspir(' much confidence in Black's position either: a) 6....i.xf3 7 'i!Vxf3 e4 8 .i.bS+ ttJbd7 9 'i!Vg3 with a clear advantage. b) 6 ... exd4 7 .i.bS+ lbbd7 8 0-0 .i.e7 9 ttJxd4 and White is on top. 7.i.bs The bishop pins the knight to reduce Black's options and paves the way for kingside castling. 7... 'i!Vas+ 8 ttJC3 .i.b4
9 o-o!
The king whisks to safety and the ensuring tactics are good for White.
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1.111·. '0 (,111',(' IIl.1xlllllllll 11111'.111 III III!' "1"'lliIHj Iw i~ ... iltlply .I (""pl,' 01 p.lwns dllwtl. " ... ·.l(xc3 10 ~xc6+ .~xc6 11 bxc3 ik'xc3 Black has to go for it to justify his 1IIIIIandish opening, which makes it a 11·.ky business. Otherwise 11.. ...txf3 12 ~xf3 e4 13 ik'g3 leaves him in disarray. 12 dxe5 ..txf3 The greedy 12 .. :§'xal? is refuted by llie stunning 13 ik'd6!, when Black's king is in big trouble. For instance: I 1.. ..iU.xf3 14 exf6 ik'xf6 15 nel+ winrring. 13 Wkxf3 ik'xf3 14 gxf3 tLld7 15 nel It is time for Black to count the pawns and be afraid. The Woodseats Variation is so wild it should be avoided in tournaments, Ihoug h it will surely do well in blitz Ijames on the internet. The Latvian Gam bit is one of those liigh-risk openings that have the credihility of occasionally being employed by masters. It has a reputation .lmongst its supporters of being sharp ,md full of complications. What is the best way to beat it? Well, you could take on the tricky main line and engage in complex attacks where both players have some wonderful potential for checkmate. The practical problem as White is that you are only likely to take on the opening once or twice a year, if that, while your opponent may very well be an expert on such a main line.
1\11('1 .III. III' i. . IIII' OIl!' wlro pl.lY'" il ,III lhl' lime so il makes sense that the fun variation with mating possibilities will get all the attention. It is for this reason that, when I have to face the Latvian, I choose a line where White can only expect to have a small plus in the opening but, more importantly, Black is prevented from getting the sort of position he or she might relish. The decision to rebuff Black's potential attack in the opening allows White to dictate the middlegame.
Game 17 G.Lane-M. Wojnar Queenstown 2006 Latvian Gambit 1 e4 e5 2 tLlf3 f5
The Latvian Gambit is launched and Black is obviously keen to stir up complications as soon as possible, because he is effectively playing the King's Gambit (1 e4 eS 2 f4) with colours re-
65
ver~t'd.
I Iti~ It,I~ lltl' llH'ril 01 .lIlowilllj Black to avoid learning st,HldLird line~ such as the RUy Lopez or the Scotch, but the downside that if White knows what he is doing then Black should struggle. The Latvian used to be known as the Greco Counter-Gambit after the famous Italian player Gioacchino Greco (1600-1634), but not surprisingly over time others have contributed analysis, in particular the Latvian writer Karlis Betins and others from his country, who have been rewarded for playing and promoting the opening. 3 ttJxes Black may well be playing the King's Gambit with colours reversed, so it makes sense to use White's extra developing move to seize the pawn. The fun line that Black players tend to analyse in depth, and which is supported by numerous correspondence games, starts with 3 iLC4 and a sample line runs 3.. .fxe4 4 ttJxes dS S 'ilVhS+ g6 6 ttJxg6 hxg6 7 'iIlxg6+ ~d7 8 iLxdS ttJf6 with delightful complications. 3...'iIlf6 4 d4 d6 5 ttJC4 fxe4 6 iLe2!?
I lik(' 10 I.lk(' III.I! k 0111 01 1111' (0111 lort zone, so rejl~dl'd 1Ill' ~l.ltld.lld move 6 0\C3 which is routinely mel by 6...1Vg6 and then: a) 7 f3 ttJf6 8 fxe4 iLe7 9 ~.e3 (9 ('Sl is the correct approach - after almo~1 400 years since the game was played iI is only natural there should be im provements for White) 9... ttJxe4 10 .il..d3? 'iIlxg2 (this ancient game is tht' one that inspired so many imitators) 11 iLxe4 iLh4+ 12 iLf2 'iIlxf2 mate, AnonG.Greco, Rome, circa 1620. b) Rather more recently 7 iLf4 ttJf6 8 tDe3 iLe7 9 iLe2 0-0 10 iLg3 c6 11 dS gave White a slight initiative in S.Manole-E.Pessi, Rumanian Championship, Baile Olanesti 2010. The advantage of 6 iLe2 is that now 6...'iIlg6?? does not transpose to the other line, since 7 iLhS! ends the game as a contest. And otherwise the queen is awkwardly placed on the f6-square where Black would prefer to develop his king's knight. 6... ttJc6 If 6 ...'iIlf7, making room for the knight to come out, then 7 ttJC3 tiJf6 8 0-0, followed by .il..gs, will put strong pressure on the e4-pawn. 7 dS
I don't want Black to catch up on development so I disrupt his pieces. 7... tiJd4 After 7... ttJes play might proceed 8 0-0 iLfS 9 tiJc3 tiJxC4 10 .il..xc4 0-0-0 11 l:i:e1 l:i:e8 (if 11...'iIlg6, then 12 'iIld4 and the threats against the a7 and e4-
66
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being played at an elite level was Juring the World Championship candidates match between Larsen and Tal in 1965. The latter was White and sank into deep thought for forty-five minutes before eventually deciding to play it safe with 6 .tC4. 6 tt:lxf7 cJJxf7 7 'iVhS+ cJJe6 The king is obliged to protect the knight on d5. 8 'iVg4+!
iLh6+1 16 '.i'hl niH 17 1Xl'11 ~ (hll I 1 I f4+ iLxf4 18 't\Vxe7+ 't\Vxe7 19 dXc7 Il.c'H clearly favours Black with his extr.1 piece) 17 ... cJJxd6 18 .l:.'!.dl+ WC7 19 .:r.:txdH .!:txf70-1.
This was when Black realized he had missed something because his much lower-rated opponent did not seem to be interested in the tricky line that he had prepared. Instead, it soon became clear that White was content with a draw by a three-time repetition of position. The winning attempt with 8 c4 is still being debated. In R.lvanukhV.5hpagin, Kharkov 2009, Black tested 8...tt:l5f6 9 d5+ cJJd6 10 'iVf7 tt:le5 11 .tf4 (threatening the deadly c4-c5+) 11 ... C5!, when play proceeded: 12 tt:lC3 a6 13 O-o-O? (apparently 13 b4! is the critical
70
8 •••cJJf7
Black meekly has to allow White to repeat moves. a) 8... cJJf6? allows an even worse re suIt: 9 'iVf3+ cJJe6 10 'iVe4+ cJJd6 11 c4 tt:l7f6 (or 11... tt:l5f6 12 c5+) 12 'iVe5+ cJJc6 13 cxd5+ and White regains the piece with a strong initiative because the black king looks silly. b) 8... cJJd6? 9 c4 is also very strong because if the knight on d5 moves away then c4-c5+ is a killer check. 9 'iVhS+ cJJe6 10 'iVg4+ And it's a draw. It is clear that you need to read up carefully on openings to avoid common mistakes. The challenge of taking on the main lines of the open Sicilian (1 e4 c5 2 tt:lf3 followed by 3 d4) is huge considering the amount of books, DVDs and databases devoted to the subject. Now it might be fine for a master to preach that the only way to get to the top is to play the main lines but even the very best players vary their opening response to the Sicilian, employing such variations as the c3 Sicilian (2 c3) or the Closed Sicilian (2 tt:lC3 and then g2-g3) to make it more difficult for opponents
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Like six mOIlIlI'. oil 110111 ',I "001 or k, live in a cave Oil your own, then >,lllIly and remember all the lines, you will "ave a bright future, The rest of us III'I-d to be clever with the limited time .tv,lilable to look at chess, This is the Il'oIson why anti-Sicilian lines are very popular and the argument for and .ttjolinst has been going on for some IllIle. In the 1960s the Danish grandmasII'r Bent Larsen, who was then one of llie best players in the world, occasion,Illy employed 2 f4 which we now retj,lTd as the Grand Prix Attack. He I ommented about his choice of openIng in the book How To Open a Chess (;ame and his explanation is worth repeating for a new generation: "Almost everybody plays [2 ttJf3 ,md] 3 d4. But isn't this a positional {,Tror? I am not joking. I like my centre pawns, and I like my d-pawn better than a c-pawn! I know that sometimes White sacrifices a knight on dS or e6 and smashes Black before he can castle, but in the games where this has been done, haven't improvements always been found for Black afterwards? Well then, isn't 3 d4 something like a cheap trap? I know it can be combined with purely strategic ideas, but I find it easier to discuss strategy when I have an extra centre pawn!" In other words there is nothing wrong with playing anti-Sicilian lines if 1,111
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Here is an inspiring example - and I have added some detailed analysis of the pawn sacrifice in the opening in case anyone wants to copy the idea:
Game 19 G.Jones-A.Zarkaj European Club Cup, Kallithea 2008
Sicilian Defence 1 e4 c5 2 ttJC3
This is a refinement on the old line which started with 2 f4, because in time it was found that 2".dS was a good reply. 2 .•. d6 3 f4
The combination of ttJC3 and f2-f4 is considered the main line. The eminent chess writer Leonard Barden named it the Grand Prix Attack, because the opening was hugely successful in the 1970s and 80s in Britain's weekend tournaments, and results were accumulated to determine the most suc-
71
C('~~flll pl.ly('r of Ih(' y('"r, ill .1 "POIl sored contest known as the Grand Prix. 3... g6 4 CLlf3 Jl.g7 S Jl.C4 White aims his bishop at the f7pawn and prepares to castle kingside. In the Grand Prix White tends to follow a similar attacking plan each time, which makes it easier to work out how to play aggressively. S... CLlc6 6 0-0 e6 7 d3 CLlge7 8 'li'el The queen is ready to transfer to the kingside via the g3 or the h4-squares. This is a key idea in the opening to make sure that the attack can be in place within the next few moves.
8 ... 0-09 fS!?
This is an indication of the value of prior knowledge, since Jones is copying older games where the advance of the f-pawn caused Black a lot of practical problems. The point behind the pawn sacrifice is to allow the dark-squared bishop to be launched into the attack via the g5 or h6-squares. Of course, if you had to try and work out the consequences of such a sacrifice at the board it would prove impossible, but knowing
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duct the attack works wOllders. 9 ... dS
Other moves: a) 9... CLld4 10 CLlxd4 cxd4 11 f6 (.1 sneaky little pawn move that helpfully eliminates Black's dark-squared bishop which is usually an important dp fender) 11 ... dxC3 12 fxg7 ~xg7 13 ~h~ (a standard manoeuvre for White, mov ing the queen to an attacking position and preparing Jl.h6+ to take advantag(' of the weak dark squares around the' king) 13 ... '/i'b6+ 14 ~hl tbg8 (14 ... cxb2 is tempting, but after 15 'li'f6+ ~g8 16 ~h6 bxal'1i' 17 ~xal Black is lost) 15 bXc3 'li'as 16 Jl.f4 dS 17 Jl.b3 dxe4 18 Jl.d6 .i.d7 (Black gives up the exchange, which is hardly surprising considering that 18 ... .l:!.d8 loses in dramatic style: 19 ~xf7+! ~xf7 20 'li'xh7+ ~e8 21 .i.o and wins) 19 ~xf8+ ~xf8 20 'li'xe4 and White is the exchange up with a superior position so winning should be just a matter of time, A.HnydiukL.Kowalczyk, Polish team Championship 1999. b) 9... exfs 10 '/i'h4 and now: bl) 10 ... hS (it is important to remember that, although there is no instant win, White's continuous pressure should be enough to secure a clear advantage) 11 ~gs 'li'd7 12 ~ael ~h8 13 ~f6 (White's pieces are well placed, so the next stage is to exchange the g7bishop which tends to do a lot of defensive work) 13 .. .fXe4 14 dXe4 tbg8 15 .i.xg7+ ~xg7 16 'li'f4 (the queen now
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I.II'1,·III"lll1e WI·.lk d6-pawn) 16 ... .l{' 1/ Hdl (White I.lk,·s the opportunity to restore the III"lerial balance by winning back a 11.lwn) 17 ... b5 18 .l:!.xd6 'liVg4 19 'liVe3 (I "pre is no point exchanging queens wilen there are still plenty of opportuIIil ies to attack) 19 .. .lbge7 20 ~d5 ..ib7 .' I h3 'iVc8 22 'liVxC5 b4 23 tiJa4 'liVc7 24 ,"id4 .l:!.ac8 25 ..ixf7! (a nice way to fin1'.11 the game in style) 25 ...'liVa5 ()5 ... .l:txf7 runs into 26 tiJe6+) 26 tiJe6+ I 0 P.Horn-A.Payen, Geneva 1990. b2) 10 ...tiJd4 11 ..ig5! (the theme of pinning the knight on e7 is a key to this v,niation) 11.. ..l:te8 12 tiJd5 tiJdc6 13 ,")f6+ ~xf6 14 ..ixf6 h5 15 'liVg5 'it>h7 16 hf7 .l:tg8 17 tiJh4 'iiC7 18 exf5 ..ixf5 19 J\xf5! 1-0 M.Voracek-T.Micanek, Czech Ieam Championship 2000. c) 10 ...'liVd7 11 ..ih6 tiJe5 12 tiJg5 (this set-up for White is very strong and Ihere is no reasonable defence for I~lack) 12 ... tiJxC4 13 ..ixg7 'it>xg7 14 'Wxh7+ (the start of a king-hunt which is miserable for Black but will make White smile!) 14... 'it>f6 15 e5+ (with so many pieces on the board the hapless black king has no chance) 15 ...'it>xg5 (alternatively, 15 ... dxe5 16 tiJce4 mate, or 15 ... 'it>xe5 16 .l:!.ael+ 'it>f6 17 'liVh6 followed by tiJh7 mate) 16 h4+ 'it>g4 17 'Wh6 1-0 O.Biti-D.Sulc, Bizovac 2000. lo~b3
White maintains tension by avoiding any pawn captures, leaving Black
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The benefit of having the queen on el becomes clear, as it is now well placed to step up the pressure on the kingside by supporting the bishop to g5 or h6 and even, in the right circumstances, tiJg5 to attack the vulnerable h7-pawn. 12 ... tiJd4 13 ~gs tiJxf3+ The pin on the e7-knight looks rather ominous, so Black finds an elaborate way to wriggle out of the problem. Nevertheless, I think the passive 13 .. .f6 should be preferred, when 14 ..ie3 offers roughly equal chances. 14.l:txf3 'liVd4+ 15 'it>hl Black might be a pawn up, but White's queen, dark-squared bishop and king's rook are threateningly placed on the kingside, while the other bishop on b3 continues to exert influence against Black's pawn shield. lS ...tiJg6 16 'liVhs fxe4 17 .l:!.h3! fS? It seems to make sense to give one pawn back and then hide the king
73
away, but Wilitt' 11.1'> .,('('n 11I111H'1. In
stead, 17 ... h6 18 ..ll.xh6 jbh6 19 ~xh6 'iVg7 20 'iVe3 b6 21 ttJxe4 would leave White with the superior chances, but at least BlacK is still in the game. 18 'iVxh7+ Wf7
19.1:!.h6! I suspect this is the move that Black missed. The rook benefits from the weakness of the pinned bishop to create mayhem in the defence. 19 ...ttJe7 20 .l:!.f6+ 'iVxf6 21 .iixf6 Wxf6 22.l:!.fl! White is now up on material and keeps faith with his attacking instincts by adding the rook to the attack. 22 ....l:!.h8 23 ttJxe4+ Wf7 24 .l:!.xf5+ A brilliant finish to a fine game. 24 •.. ttJxf5 25 'iVxf5+ 1-0
Play like a Champion, but be patient I would like to emphasize the advantage of knowing such games if you wish to play the opening because it will help you formulate the attack in the middlegame. It is far better for others
74
10 do .III IIlI' 11.lId work 01 Irndrn<j 0111 the right way to handle the opl'nin<j,
when you can copy the best ideas. Till' can be done by going through gam(', from a book and noting how Whitt' wins. The alternative is to use your computer database, collect a number of victories by strong players, and then play rapidly though the games to get a feel of the opening. A demonstration of the benefit of having a little knowledge is that playing through the Grand Prix Attack game will now allow you to understand how the legendary American star Bobby Fischer outwitted an opponent in the opening:
Game 20
A.Saidy-R.J.Fischer US Team Championship, New York 1969
English Opening 1 c4 e5 2 ttJC3 ttJc6 3 g3 f5 This is what we nowadays call the reversed Grand Prix Attack - as can be easily understood when we notice that Black is playing in the same fashion as White in the previous game (1 e4 c5 2 ttJC3 ttJc6 3 f4). 4 .iig2 ttJf6 5 e3 The opening is still going strong on the evidence on the following game where Black is a top grandmaster: 5 d3 ..iC5 6 a3 (this is not normal, but the whole point is that White is out of his
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" dh 11>4 ,,,;;,bh H I' III II ".', HII') '/IiVI'H (.I'> III IIH' (,ramI Prix /\11.11 k IIH' '1ll('('n pre1'0111, .. 10 attack on the killgside) 10tDdS "\xdS 11 ~xdS+ Wh8 12 0-0 f4!? (this '"II r ilice should be familiar from Jones/,lIkaj; if the e3-pawn takes then the l'I,.hop on b6 is strengthened, while if III!' g3-pawn takes the white king is .'xposed) 13 tZJC3 iLh3 14 exf4? (14 .l:!.el I', necessary) 14... ..td4 15 ..td2 ..txfi16 'i'xfl exf4 17 gxf4 ~S 18 bS tZJes! 19 lXI'S .l':!.xf2 20 \!i'xf2 iLxf2+ 21 ~xf2 'i'xh2+ 22 ~e3 .l:!.f8 23 l:!.a2 \!i'f2+ 24 :i.(~4 dxes 0-1 M.Renaudin-L.Fressinet, I',lris 2001. 1j ... ,~,CS 6 d3 f4!?
This pawn sacrifice might look mar-
vellous, and admirers can point to Ii scher's genius, but for us knowing ,lbout the previous main game makes it look quite logical. Yes, indeed, Black is playing a Grand Prix Attack with colours reversed. If your opponent is not an expert on the Sicilian it could still come as a nasty surprise. 7 exf4 0-0 8 tZJge2 \!i'e8
H... db ,II orl«' i.. IIIl', Yl'd r., 1,lll'r, I Ill' (,l'tlnd n
grandmaster defended the honour of the variation by improving with 9... ..lte7! and then: a) 10 'iVd2 lLlf6 (10 .....ltxg5? 11 'ilVxg5 lLlxd4? 12 ..ltxd7+ wins due to the discovered attack on the black queen) 11 0-0-0 lid8 12 lLlb3 'iVC7 with equal chances, T.Horvath-W.Uhlmann, Austrian Team Championship 2005. b) 10 if.xe7 lLlgxe7 11 0-0 0-0 (11 ...'iVb4 can be safely met by 12 lLlb3) 12 lLlb3 'ilVC7 13 liel also gave Black a perfectly acceptable position in P.Rooze-W.Uhlmann, World Seniors Championship, Bad Zwischenahn 2008.
100-0!
White carries on getting his pieces into the action, while making sure his king is out of the way. 10... if.xc3 11 bxc3 'iVxC3 If Black can get away with this then the extra pawn will prove to be useful. The warning signs are that White's pieces are well co-ordinated, while the black king is still sitting serenely on its starting square.
86
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13 0\xc6 ~xg5, thenll\ ~d(,1 ~d5 (III 14... 4'\e7 15 mdl! 41xc6 16 ~d7+ 'lotH 17 "it'xb7) 15 'ilNxd5 exd5 16 J:Ife1+ oJ.'tH (not 16 ...\t>d7? 17 lLle5+ cJ;;;e7 18 4'\g61 and wins) 17 lLld4lLlf6 18 .l::!:ebl! b5 19 a4 and the ending favours White. 12lLlfS!!
This is a typical Tal move, which offers a piece in return for a lightning attack. 1think it is safe to say that Black missed the depth and strength of the attack, because he apparently sank into thought for one hour and fifty minutes. 12 ... exfs The refusal of the sacrifice leaves Black in dire straits. For instance: 12 ... 'ilVC5 13 lLld6+ ~f8 14 if.e3 'iVe5 15 lib 1 lib 8 16liel with a big advantage. 13 lie1+ if.e6 14 'iVd6 The position is clearly awkward for Black - even if White did not calculate every possible line it is clear that, with so many pieces lined up against the king, something has to be right. Perhaps the key point is that it is far from obvious how Black can extract his king
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14".a6 I he natural move' 14.Ji\f6 is fatally IIlIdermined by 15 1'l:ad1, when White ".IS a decisive grip on the position be'.IllSe the black king cannot move away flOm danger; e.g. 15 ... a6 (or 15 ... h6 16 ·~xf6 gxf6 17 l:i.xe6+! fxe6 18 '¥Vxe6+ :t'f8 19 l:i.d7 winning) 16 ~xf6 gxf6 17 nxe6+ fxe6 18 '¥Vxe6+ 'it>f8 19 l:i.d7 'Wa1+ 20 ~f1 and Black will be mated. 15 .~d2! A crafty idea: the bishop changes diagonals to support the cause of checkmate. Instead, 15 ~a4?! b5 16 .~.d2 '¥VC4 17 ~b3 :ad8! 18 'iJlC7 :ad7 is equal according to Tal. 15,..'¥Vxc2 16 ~b4!
k\ (.1110,(' jo, hop('I('''''. I or ('X"'" pic: 19 ... 'YIt!) wilh ,\ (I('dfly
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ing for Whitc_ 16 ..Ii.d6! ~C4 The other queen moves do not help either: 16 ... ~d7 allows 17 .txa8, while 16 ...~a7 17 ii.cs is hopeless for Black in view of 17 ... ~b8? 18 .tc6+ and mates. 17 'it'b6!
15 ... CLlxd1? It is difficult to resist taking the rook hut it soon turns out to be bad. The ,1Iternatives are hardly inspiring but at least there is a faint chance of Black ~urviving:
a} lS ... .tb7? 16 .td6 ~d7 {or 16 .....ixf3 17 bXC3} 17 ~xc3 and it is time for Black to count the pieces. b} ls .. .'~xe7 16 bXc3! {more convincing than 16 ~4+ f6 17 exf6+ gxf6 18 Wfb4+ . lS ... Wf8 16 JLC4 nb8 Perhaps he just got lucky but a cou ple of years later White had this posi tion again in the game C.McNab E.5pencer, Hawick 2006. This time hb opponent tried 16 ...tLlg6, allowing McNab to show what he had intended: 17 iLg8! (here the big threat is mate on f7) 17 ...tLlh8 (this pitiful retreat is forced, since queen moves such as 17 ..."YlUe7? run into 18 ctJdS! and 19 tLlxc7) 18 ..id2 with the much better position for White. It is certainly a good advert for the virtues of playing the same opening and consequently benefiting from having prior knowledge of the plans involved. 17.if7!
A nice way to pick up a pawn and maintain the pressure on the king. 17 ... b6 18 .ixhs .l:If6 Once again Black has to guard against the threat of mate, which is an indication that his opening has turned out to be a disaster.
19
f3 I h(' ll.l~'.lt w,ly III 1111'.11; dowII the
polwn chain, .md I II IIII'. ( .. .,e it helps "pen lines to allow an attack to prosIH'r. 19 .. ,exf3 20 gxf3 ii.b7 21.c6! ttJxc6 21 ... ..ixc6 22 d5 ii.b7 23 fxg4 is also qood for White. 22..id2?! Now White catches up on development, but he should really be making wre victory is within sight. 22 ttJg6+! is ,In improvement which forces Black to give up material. For instance: 22 ....l::txg6 23 i.xg6 fjlje7 24 i.h7 winning. 22 ...ttJa5? Instead 22 ... i.h6! provides an escape square on g7 for the king, when there is still hope of survival. 23 .txa5 i.xf3 23 ...bxa5 is met by 24 ttJg6+ .l::txg6 (or 24 ... 'it>e8? 25 iVg8+ i.f8 26 ttJxf8+ winning easily) 25 i.xg6 and White has a clear advantage. 24 .tb4+! c5
Ill!' t Ii 11'.1 I 10 Ill!' took Oil Ii 1 (.111 1)(' .,,,Iely ignored because White has a forcing combination which is very strong.
25 dXC5! i.xhl? Losing at once, but 25 ... bxC5 26 i.xc5+ d6 27 ttJe6+ 'it>e7 28 ttJxd8 .l::txb3 29 axb3 dXc5 30 .l::txa7+ 'it>xd8 31 .l:[h2 leaves White the exchange and a pawn ahead with a winning endgame. 26 c6+ d6 27 0-0-0 fjljC7 28 .l::txd6 1-0 Since 28 ....l::txd6 29 .txd6+ fjljxd6 30 fjljf7 is mate.
"Chess is work." - Walter Browne.
93
Chapter Four
Secrets of Success "/ don't believe in psychology, / believe in good moves." - Bobby Fischer in the New York Times, 1972.
G.Lane-R.Eccies Touckley 2007
Predict-a-move I think it is fundamental when you have the advantage that you go on the attack. However, this happy state of affairs will not always be true, so there will be a need to be smart and tricky to extract an advantage from even an equal-looking position. In my experience one way to lure an opponent to their doom is predict-a-move. The standard idea is that you spot what your opponent is planning and then find a move that hides a trap should he carry on as intended. In other words you mask your true intentions while still playing a reasonable move to avoid suspicion. This seems an obvious method of winning to experienced players, but it can be quite a revelation to others. Here is the idea of predict-a-move in action: 94
White to play
This is the easiest example I could think of that demonstrates Black walking into a trap. In a French Defence Black has applied the usual pressure against the d4-pawn with ... iLJc6 and ... \¥Vb6, so I am happy to make things easier for him. 11 iLd3
A perfectly reasonable move, pre-
1',1111111 .'.'U'/ ,lIld ",'IIIII'l lip 01 II.lp
il
pawn. I1.J;\xd4? 12 (i\xd4l/11Vxd4?? Still happily counting the pawns. U .~.g6+ 1-0
II I. I! k W.lllh 10 'llol" lilt' d
The next game shows that even the I'lp American players can be lulled into ,liaIse sense of security when coming II p against predict -a-move:
J.Kraai-A.Stripunsky US Championship, St Louis 2010
Wllil,' w,llk .. ililo IIH'
k, Wh('Il'ol" a more considered approach might have found 22 Hdcl, followed by .lias, before taking on c4 with equal chances. This is the beauty of predict-a-move - it can tip the scales in your favour when a draw is the more likely result. 22 ...l:i.xc4! 23l:i.xC4ctJb6 The point of Stripunsky's crafty play is that he emerges with two pieces for a rook and a winning position. 24 ~xbS?! After 24 ~xa6 i.xc4 there is no hint of counterplay by White who will suffer in the long term. Sensing that all is lost White pins his hopes on the queen sacrifice with vague ambitions to advance the passed a-pawn. The game concluded: 24 ...axbs 2S l:i.cS ctJg4 26 l:i.xbS ctJd7 27 a4.lixf3 28 gxf3 ~xh2+ 29 'it'fl ~h3+ 30 'it'e2ctJh2 31.lib4 ~xf3+ 32 'it'elctJf6 0-1 IIi!
In the next game many players would agree a draw, but Black proves that luck is on your side if you prepare to attack:
Black to play It is clear that White intends to take
R.Pru ijssers-F.Kroeze
lin c4, so the position is ripe for predict-
Dutch Team Championship 2008
move by setting up a trap while also playing a constructive move: 21 •.• l:i.bS Black makes little attempt to hang lin to the pawn since the obvious )1...ctJb6 allows 22 ~xa6. 22 i.xC4? ,I
White has just played l:i.c6-a6, making it abundantly clear that he is about to take the a-pawn. Just that information is sufficient for an experienced player to set in motion the process of
95
predict-gl
Morgan-R.Fine Utah State Championship 1940
4 ... l::te3!! A totally brilliant concept. By blocking the bishop on cl, Black threatens ... tiJf4 and ... ~g2 mate, so the rook must be taken. 5 .i.xe3 tiJxe3
Black to play
Even using the basic count the pieces method of assessing the position it should be clear that Black is on top, especially as it is his turn to move. White's pieces are jammed up on the queenside, effectively leaving the lone TOok on el to put up a defence; whereas Black has an active TOok on h5, another one on e8 jostling for position,
6 fxe3
White has no choice but to accept
107
thb pit·n' .. ,> wl'lI, . . illl t' ing on g2.
III"tt' W" ... 10UIII
6•••iVg3+ 7 'it>h1
7 Wfl is met by 7... dxe3 and mate onf2. 7... j,d60-1
lrorll
till'
yt'.11
Ill'
WOll WIll,
IIII'
II11 II·dl
ble score 01 11/11.. 'he LUmp.lli'.o"
with the previous Reuben Fine garTll' I'. clear if you start to scan the board fOI the important motif of mysteriow.ly just allowing a piece to be taken!
White has no defence against 8...iVh2 mate.
R.J.Fischer-P.Benko The celebrated American playing Black, Reuben Fine (1914-1993), was a fantastic talent who entered the prestigious US Open Championship seven times and won on every occasion. He was one of the strongest players in the world from 1936-19S1, when he just about gave up competitive chess. The players on the US chess scene were upset because he was tipped as their best contender for the World Championship. Many years later the issue still rankled, causing the writer Gilbert Cant - in an article 'Why They Play: The Psychology of Chess' in Time magazine, 1972 - to come up with the amusing line: "When Fine switched his major interest from chess to psychoanalysis, the result was a loss for chess - and a draw, at best,jor psychoanalysis." The legendary Bobby Fischer (Bobby was his nickname, though officially he was named Robert James Fischer) managed to surpass even Fine's achievements by going on to win the World Championship in 1972, along the way notching up eight US Championships. The following game is taken
108
US Championship, New York 1963
White to play 19 Mf6!!
The first time I saw this move - in Fischer's classic book My 60 Memorable Games - I felt like I had glimpsed genius for the first time. However, the constant theme of recognizing patterns in chess should make it easier to spot. White would like to play 19 eS to target the h7-pawn, but then 19 .. .fS is an adequate reply, blocking the mate and revealing a discovered attack on the white queen. The logic behind Fischer's spectacular choice becomes clear,
wllt'll W(' 1(',111/(' 111.11 II ·.illIl'ly 1'1('V('1l1le"d, '11 .ih6! would have just about justified my decision to cash in my chips prematurely back on move 27. The point is that Black can't keep checking with the rook because d2 is covered by the bishop, and amazingly I am also threatening mate in one move with 42 .l:[e3, so likely lines are: a) 41...~g3 42 .l:[e3+ ~h4 43 .l:[e7 J:ld1+ 44 ~h2 .iC4 45 .if4! (the threat of .l:[xh7+ is the best prelude to winning the piece) 45 ... ~h5 46 f7 .ixf7 47 .l:[xf7 winning easily. b) 41.. ..l:[d1+ 42 ~h2 .l:[d7 43 .l:[e3+ ~f2 44 .l:[e7 .l:[d8 45 f7 and wins. 41 ....l:[dl+ 42 ~h2 .l:[d2+ 43 ~gl Yz-Yz
"You missed checkmate." - The first and last words to me by a bemusedlooking former World Champion and passed on by a polite translator. The issue of the need to cash in your chips is more evident once you start looking for it in other games. Brilliant king chases are a joy to watch, but the majority of games see strong players taking a practical decision to make sure they win. In the next game the prize in the match is a place in the final of the World Championship to challenge Garry Kasparov. The stakes are high and so are the nerves but White holds his steady, allowing his attack to fade in return for the chance to cash in his chips:
118
(J(WW
31
J.Tlmman-N.Short Candidates final (7th matchgame), EI Escorial1993 Ruy Lopez 1 e4 e5 2 lLlf3lLlc6 3 .ib5 a6 4 .ixc6 The Exchange Variation of the Ruy Lopez has been known a long time and in the 1960s was championed by Bobby Fischer who used it to great effect. Timman has also been a long-term admirer, and in recent years elite grandmasters such as Karjakin and Radjabov have added it to their opening repertoires. 4 ... dxc6 5 0-0 In junior tournaments 5 lLlxe5 sometimes wins a pawn, but experience soon teaches us that 5...~d4! easily wins it back for Black, with the added bonus of a slight initiative after 6lLlf3 ~xe4+ 7 ~e2 ~xe2+ 8 ~xe2 lLlf6 due to the two bishops. Once White has castled short, however, 6 lLlxe5 becomes a real threat, since 6... ~d4 7lLlf3 ~xe4?? would now lose the queen to 8 ~e1.
5... ~d6
It looks a bit odd to defend the epawn in this way, but the merits of the queen advance were advocated by former World Championship contender David Bronstein and it caught on with leading players. The idea is to add some flexibility to Black's position, who still has a choice as to where to develop his
qIH'('I1\ hl,.III,!" wllll(' pn'Pdril1~ quickly Cd~lI(' qU('('I1~ide.
Lu
Another popular option is s.. .f6, protecting the e-pawn, when the resulting ending from 6 d4 exd4 7 i' 1xd4 cS (not 7... ..tcS? which loses a piece to 8 iYhS+) 8ctJb3 'li'xdl 9l:lxdl is still being debated as to who is better. I am inclined to believe that White has superior winning chances in practical play because Black needs to find accurate moves to hold the endgame. The argument by White is that if you could magically exchange all the pieces in this position, then the king and pawn ending is winning thanks to the kingside pawn majority. This is because White will be able to create a passed pawn, whereas Black cannot do the same with his damaged queenside. In reality, Black's pair of bishops offer compensation for the doubled c-pawns and there are plenty of drawn games to demonstrate that the position is objectively roughly level. oI~ain
6ctJa3 The immediate threat is 7 ctJc4,
winnir1<J
d
P,\WIl.
AlluLlH'r, mure posi
tional idea is that 6... bS can be met by c2-c3, followed by ctJc2 and d2-d4 to contest the centre. 6.....te6 7 'li'e2 White gives the queen's knight a helping hand by covering the c4square. The exchange of bishop for knight would favour him since Black would no longer have the pair of bishops as compensation for the doubled cpawns. 7 ...f6 Sl:ldl A standard idea in this line to force through d2-d4 at an early stage, which explains why 7 'li'e2 is popular for White, since the rook will be useful in making sure the black queen has to move again. S... gS?!
This goes against the usual plan of development and castling in the opening. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, but this is not one of them, even though it apparently took thirty minutes at the board for Short to come up with this new idea.
119
9 d4 g4 10 itlll " P"WII wll" I fL~xb4 and trying to hatH] Oil does !lot work when White's pieces are alI!'ady concentrated on the queenside. lor example: 19 dXc7 ~xd1 20 Vi'xd1! (threatening 'iVdS mate) 20 ... WxC7?! 21 Hb1 'iVxC4 22 ~xb7+! Wxb7 23 'iVd7+ "'laS 24 'iVcS+ Wa7 25 c6+ ..\tC5 26 't!Yb7 mate. in this line 20 ....txc5 is the only chance to survive, but after 21 tiJxe5 fxe5 22 tiJd3 'iVb5 23 .txc5 White is still on top. 19 tiJas Now the big threat is c5-c6, wrecking Black's fragile-looking pawn shield. For instance, 19 ... 'iVxb4 20 c6! 'iVxa5 (or 20 ...~xd6 21 cxb7+ WbS 22 ~ab1 'iVxa5 23 .ta7+ rtlxa7 24 bS'iV mate) 21 cxd7+ '.t>xd7 22 dXc7+ WxC7 23 ~ab1 winning. 19 ...c6 Short forcibly prevents c5-c6 and hopes that the weakening of the dark squares will not prove too serious, but Black's occupation of the c6-square has consequences which soon become clear. 20 tiJd3
It ja7 43 .l:!.d7+ 'it>b8 44 a6 and Black runs a big risk of being mated. 43 .l:!.b5+ <j;;C7 44 .l:!.xb4 1-0
"/ kllt'w 1/111/
\/111/
(/
11111) t'x;,lt'ti.
( )/Ilt'rwiw / wOllld liavl' never Jouncl it." l~lIg8 26 i.xg6! fxg6 (or 26 ...hxg6 27 liJxg6 fxg6 28 ~xg6+ 'it>f8 29 i¥.h6 mate) 27 liJxg6 liJg4 28 liJxe7+ ~xe7 29 WVh4 and Black can resign.
21 i¥.xf8 I am happy to cash in my chips since the extra material gives me a clear advantage. Even better, in this case I can also make an effort to keep on attacking. 21 ... l:txf8 22 c4 liJf6 23 i¥.a2 The idea is to advance the d-pawn
138
~o
111.11 BI,I( k will h.lvt· 10 tlt'lt'lId, ·.tlllil ing out any hint of countcrpltly. 23 ... '.i?g7 24 dSI exd5 25 cxd5 ~cS If 25 ... liJxd5? White pounces with )I. 'iYf3, when 26 ... l:1.d8 of course allow~ ) I ~xf7+.
26 ~c3l:tc8 The basic-looking 26 ... 'it>g8 is tfH' best way to prolong the game, thouqll 27 ~C4 .te8 28 a4 still leaves Whill' with a sizeable advantage. 27 ~b2 i¥.d6?! 28 liJg4! i.e7 29 ~d4
The easiest way to make Black suffer, threatening the light-squared bishop while also supporting the passed d-pawn. 29 ...i¥.C2 30 d6 i¥.d8 31 l:tac1 i¥.f5 32 liJes The knight is added to the onslaught and now the f7-pawn is the target, forcing Black even more onto the defensive. 32 ...l:txc1 33l:txc1 ~a6 After 33 ...i¥.e6 34 i¥.xe6 fxe6 35 d7 Black has an awful position. 34 liJxf7 ~xa3 35 ~d2 The rook is defended, and at the
'.01111('
I illl!' I
iflU'('1l 011
dill
polwd
III
1.11111 II,,'
116.
Lo ,\Void
11101(' (
11t'(
k~.
41 .. :~UC3 42 'W'h6+ gs 43 g3+ '.ilf3
3s ••• tLJe4 36 'YWh6+ ~f6
44 tLJes+! 1-0
Black is sportingly playing on to allow me a king chase, though he is also hoping my time-trouble will make a difference.
Black resigned in view of 44...~xe5 45 J::te3+ ~g4 46 h3 mate.
37 .i.c4 bS 38 tLJxd8 bxc4
White is having all the fun and is perfectly placed to snare the black king. 39 ~f8+ ~gs 40 tLJf7+ ~f4 41 ~el
This is the quickest way to mate since Black is hardly in a position even
"Young players often proudly 'invent' what was discarded a generation ago. They then add another chapter to a very old story, fancying a1l the while they have just stumbled across the plot of a new one." - Emanuel Lasker in 1908.
13 I)
Chapter Six
History Always Repeats Itself
"Every chess master was once a beginner." - Irving Cherney.
One problem that a lot of people have with their chess is a lack of vision and speed in seeing combinations to aid the attack. It is said that positional play is the difference between the master and the casual player, and that the judgement of a position depends on assessing it correctly. This might involve rudimentary observations such as using the count the pieces method, but a strong attacking player will also make a search to see whether there is a chance to create a combination, or to lure the opponent into a position which allows a tactical opportunity. A master's scan of the board can reveal these possibilities in a matter of moments, not because of fine calculation but because of accumulated knowledge. In particular, an experienced player is guided to a certain extent when attacking by recognizing 140
combinational patterns which can will material or assist in executing check mate. (If, I hasten to add, no combin.\ tion or forcing move leading to an ad vantage is found, then the general TUII' is to improve your pieces.) If your num ber one priority is attacking, then know ing the right sort of positions to aim fOl is half the battle. My earliest memory of the need to know chess history was when some body at my local club presented a serie~ of puzzles and then waited for the be mused players to answer the questiom correctly. One of the games that had everyone stuck was this one:
G.Kuzmin-E.Sveshnikov USSR Championship, Moscow 1973 This position seemed baffling as a youngster, because I could not get 16
~II', to .~.
wOlk .• 111 .lilly '>lJPporlr'd; il also introduces the possibility of queen or rook to f3 to help kick-start the attack. The attentive reader mig ht notice that the ingredients needed to enjoy our favourite combination are in place, though a little adjustment is required to carry it out with success. Using predict-a-move, we can make a good guess as to what will happen next, considering Black has just played 11 ... a6.
12 ..• bS
Mayer understandably continues with his plan of gaining space on the queenside. 13 ct:Jxd7! It appears that White is just exchanging pieces and there is nothing for Black to be worried about. The reality is that the pair of white bishops are well placed to be used in a combination and, once sufficient exchanges have been made, that can be a Lasker Attack. 13 ... ct:Jxd7 The alternative 13 ... ~xd7 allows 14 dXC5, winning a pawn, since 14....txc5?
144
tlUl'> illlo 1',,, )(11, '1)(11, I" ,;;.' xii/II (once more L11!' hl,l! k P,IWIl'> .III' stripped away as a prelude to a liqlll ning attack) 16 ... 'i£txh7 17 ~h5+ <j.'g7 1 H ~g4+ 'i£th7 19lIf3 and the ghost of till' Lasker Attack is enough to for!!' checkmate. 14 dxcS ct:JxcS?
Black's is oblivious to the upcoming storm and is just eager to exchange pieces on d3. a) 14... .txc5?! is only marginally an improvement in view of 15 .txh7+! 'i£txh7 16 ~5+ 'i£tg8 17 .txg7! .txe3+ 18 'i£thl f6 (not 18 ...'i£txg7? 19 ~g5+ 'i£th8 20 ~h6+ 'i£tg8 21 lIf3 and Black is in big trouble) 19 .th6 (threatening ~g6+) 19 ... ct:Je5 (not 19 ... ~xc2? 20 ,Uf3 and wins) 20 .txf8 and White comes out on top. For example: 20 ... .txd2 21 .tb4 .txb4 22 fxe5 .tf8 23 lIxf6 or 20 ... lIxf8 21 fxe5 .txd2 22 lIf3 ~7 23 ~g4+ 'i£th8 (or 23 ... ~g7 24 ~xe6+ ~f7 25 ~d6) 24 lIh3 .th6 25 ~5 'i£tg7 26 lIfl f5 27 lIff3 f4 28 lIc3! lIf7 29 lIM followed by lIch3. b) 14... ~xc5! was correct, when 15
~xh/l
.:i;xhl 1(,
~h')1 ·.v,qH 1l.~·.x(Jl
i.,
Ihw,IIIt'd by 17 .. .'~Wxe.H 18 '>i'hl ,>v~xg7 1<J HI] d41 and White has no more than " draw; or if 15 .l:l.d4 WIIC7 16 3/.xh7+ ,v,'xh7 17 ~h5+ '.1;>g8 18 3/.xg7 'iitxg7 19 'W'g4+ 0.Jh8 20 .l::tf3, then 20 ...liJf6 21 T(h3+ liJh7 defends. But of course White is not obliged to sacrifice and could just continue to build up with, say, 16 .l::tf3 and .l::th3 with the better chances. 153/.xh7+! This is spectacular, but once you learn the pattern it should come quite naturally. 15 .. .'it'xh7 16 WIIh5+ 'iitg8
,mel every game, I should explain that the idea is not to propose this particular combination as a regular attacking weapon, but rather to give a taste of how easy it is to become aware of even quite complex checkmates once you get used to them. In time you should get almost a sixth sense when they appear at the board. Here is another example of how we can train ourselves to raise our rating:
A.Susterman-K.Mar European Women's Championship, Chisinau 2005
17 ~xg7 'iitxg7
17 .. .f6 is strongly met by 18 'iVg6, when 18 ... .l::tf7 19 ~h6+ 'iith8 20 WIIxf7 is deadly. 18 WIIg4+ 1-0 Black resigned in view of the now familiar 18 ... 'iith8 19 .l::tf3 and .l::th3+, winning. Before anyone rushes off and tries to achieve the Lasker Attack in each
White to play This might look like a tricky position, but when you are in the know it all becomes very easy: 16 liJe7+ 'iith8 17 .l::txh7+! 1-0 Black resigned in view of 17 ... 'iitxh7 18~5 mate. The knowledge of this trick sud-
145
denly opens up oUa'! dV('lllH'~ of ,Ill,\( k
that you might previously have overlooked:
C.Oavila-K.Saed Bled Olym piad 2002
32'~'b5'
The bblrop ,111.11 k" lilt' bl,l(k kniqlll.
while making way for the rook on h8
Black to play
White is preparing 26 'iVh4 to threaten mate on h7, but there is still plenty of play in the position because Black can, for instance, make ready to move his queen into the defence via fS. One line might be 2S ... ~d7 (note that here the queen also covers the e7square) 26 'iVh4 h6! 27 gxh6 ..tes and although White is better, there is still a lot of work to do before victory is ensured.
146
~()
WII,tI wllltid 11011'1"'11 II III!' !fIll'('11
Inovl'd Lo 01 dllll'Il'IIi ',111'.111', ~udl as: 2S ....~c8? The answer is easy if you know the mating pattern: 26 llxh7+! 'it>xh7 27 ~h4+ 'it>g8 28 0,e7 mate
IIIl' CoII('
~yo,l('1II
Ih,1l ,Ipp('drl'd ill IIIl'
previous main game.
It is time to see how such a glorious combination can work in action, by observing how such a position can be created when you have the experience to know what to go for:
Game 37 J.Nogueiras SantiagoM.Todorovic
Dos Hermanas (internet blitz) 2005 London System 1d4dS 2 Af4 This is the modern way of playing the London System, as opposed to the traditional 2 0,f3 0,f6 3 Af4. One of the reasons for the immediate bishop deployment is that the line 2 0,f3 c5 is avoided, while the delay in developing the king's knight also allows the d4pawn to be secured with a quick e2-e3 or c2-c3 in certain circumstances. 2... cS 3 e3 0,c6 40,f3 e6 5 c3 Ad6 Black contests the centre, wary of allowing White to have everything all his own way by installing a knight on e5 followed by Afl-d3 and castling kingside - a similar method of attack as in
6 i.g3 0,f6 7 0,bd2 White is just catching up on development, while binding his time before deciding where to deploy the lightsquared bishop. 7... 0-08 j"bS I might fancy playing Jld3 to target the h7-pawn, but White has another idea of how to form the attack. The plan is to take the knight on c6, then play 0,f3-e5 with thoughts of f2-f4. 8... Axg3 9 hxg3 The doubled pawns are nothing to worry about as the h-file is now open for White's rook. Normally this makes little difference because White has already castled kingside, but perhaps thc' Yugoslav grandmaster playing Black underestimated the danger that thl' change in circumstances has created. 9...~d6 10 Axc6 bxc6 11 0,es The position is already looking prom ising for White, and a lot of that can 1)(' attributed to knowledge of typical plano, in the opening. The motif of planting d
147
knighL on l~5 supporLt'd by Lilt' bi~ll()p jdl fxg6 17 ~xg6+ lot;h8 lH ~h6+ \1t>g8 19 .l:tgl+ ~f7 20 .l:tg7+ liIeH 21 ~s+ .l:tf7 22 ~xf7 mate, R.Rennert I.Blas, online game 2001. a2) 9 .. .fS 10 gxf6 etJxf6 11 ~f3 etJbd7 (the natural 11...i.b7 is well met by 12 'iWh3!, hitting the e6-pawn and with latent mating threats against h7) 12 .l:tgl etJxe5 13 .ixes .l:tf7 14 etJC3 gave White very promising play in A.5chirbeM.Reichelt, online game 2002. b) 8... etJe4 9 g5 f6 10 .ixe4 dxe4 11 gxf6 .ixf6 12 ~g4 .ih4+ 13 ~dl ~e7 14 .l:tgl .if6 15 etJC3 was about equal in E.Lopatskaya-A.Dorofeeva, Moscow 1997. White has good chances to round up the weak e4-pawn, but this is offset by the king getting in the way of the rooks. 9 g5 etJe4 10 ~h5!?
I differed from the previous main game simply because I forgot what
l1.q>PI'IH'd. I ~11"I'I'1 t ll1b is the experi-
of many players when it becomes .1 memory test, which is why knowing how the attack was constructed in a proper game can help you plan the middlegame, even if the exact moves are forgotten.
('flee
10 ... ltJd7 11ltJg4 fS?!
Black might make the most of my failure to exchange on e4 by coming up with the crafty 11 ... d4! to diminish the role of the bishop on b2. For instance: 12 .l':i:gl (or 12 exd4?! cxd4 13 .il.xd4 ltJdC5 14 .il.xC5 bXc5 intending ... 'ii'd4 with an edge) 12 ... g6 13 ltJh6+ ~h8 14 'ii'h3 and White's initiative is waning, or 13 'iVh4 f6 14 .il.xe4 .il.xe4 15 ltJh6+ ~h8 16 ltJa3, preparing to castle queenside, but the attack is still floundering. 12 g6 hxg6
I was dreaming of 12 ... h6?, allowing me to be listed in puzzles books forever thanks to the wonderful 13 'ii'xh6! gxh6 14ltJxh6 mate. 13 'ii'xg6 .il.h4+ 14 ~e2
An instinctive way to defend against the threat of mate on g7 but it does not do a good job. Instead: a) 14... ltJdf6 15 ltJh6+ ~h8 16 .il.Xe4! (the immediate 16 ltJf7+? is seen to be incorrect after 16 .. JIxf7 17 'ii'xf7 ltJd6! and Black turns the tables due to the threats of ltJxf7 and ... C5-C4) 16 ... dxe4 17 ltJf7+ .l':i:xf7 18 'ii'xf7 clearly favours White. b) 14... .il.f6! is the only way to cope with the tactics, when 15 ltJxf6+ ltJdxf6 16 .l':i:gl 'ii'e7 would be roughly equa1. However, this is the beauty of attacking play: the defender has to jump over so many obstacles that he often trips up and misses the right continuation.
is .il.xe4 ~h8 A desperate decision, but it only now dawned on Black that 15 ... dxe4 is destroyed by 16 ltJh6+ ~h8 17 'iVh5!, threatening to win the queen by 18 ltJxf5 discovered check, while 17 ...'ii'e8 gets mated after 18ltJf7+ ~g8 19 'iVh8+ ~xf7 20 'ii'xg7. Finally, 15 .. .fxg4 is also hopeless due to 16 'ii'h7+ ~f7 17 .il.g6 mate. 16 'ii'hS+ ~g8 17ltJh6+ 1-0
Black did not want to see 17 ... ~h8 (or 17 ... gxh6 18 'ii'g6+ 'ii'g7 19 'ii'xg7 mate) 18 ltJxf5+ ~g8 19 ltJxe7+ .il.xe7 20 'iVh7+ ~f7 21 .il.g6 mate.
Claim to Fame
14 .. JWe7?
This quick win with 1 b3 led me into the classic mistake of believing that this was an opening destined for suc-
155
cess. It ~.lve tne ,Ill um('"li~li( vi('w 01 my chances and I started playing 1 b3 at every opportunity. However, after a while, my results were not quite as impressive: a series of draws and a loss to a local player made me realize that I could not extract enough pressure from the opening. This is a problem a lot of people face: enjoying a good victory makes you want to repeat the experience and so you tend to remain oblivious to the shortcomings of the opening. This is particularly true of gambit openings, with which you might have a spectacular win, but then fail to make an impression when people prepare a line against it. Nowadays, it is even more difficult to win with a particular offbeat opening, since a lot of games end up on a computer database and keen opponents can look up your favoured line, so the important surprise factor is lost. The one good thing about playing a different opening is that you soon find out which lines are awkward to meet, and you can then use them when playing the other side. For instance, my results as Black against 1 b3 zoomed up. Nevertheless, I still took an interest in the Nimzo-Larsen Attack, especially in games played by Armenian grandmaster Artashes Minasian, a worldrenowned expert on the opening, and was shocked when his 1 b3 was demolished in a heavyweight encounter. I think he must have shared the same opinion because he dropped it almost
156
(OIllpll'll'ly loire, only
1111111
III', "ll1'lIilllj 11'111'1 l iliU it au,lill',l (.11
rl'h in your chif!.~, since White has nothing for the pawns. 17 ttJxc6+ bxc6 18 'iVb3 After 18 'iVxCl 'iVxcl 19 l':taxcl cxbS White should count the pieces and then resign. 18 ... cxb5 19 axb5 'iVe3! This had to be seen in advance. The threat to swap off queens enables the black queen to swing across to the queenside and thwart White's attack. 20 'iVa4 ~b2 21 'iVxa6 White can keep fighting with 21 l':ta2!?, but then 21 ... 'iVb6 22 Mxb2 ttJd7 leaves Black with a stout defence and of course an extra piece. 21 ... i.xa1 22l':txa1
22 •.•l':td1+! Black's plan is revealed: mate is prevented and he can now force the queens off. 23 l':txd1 'iVa7 24 'iVc6 'iVb6 25 c5 ~xc6 26 bxc6l':te8 27 g4 h6 28 h4 g5 Adams makes sure that the knight cannot be knocked off its perch on f6, which means White cannot invade the
159
~('V('lltl1
t.lllk witl1 I1h took .Illd till' game is effectively over as a collle~L. 29 hxgs hxgs 30 <J;g2 <SiCS 0-1
"/ have noticed that when Magnus is not too happy with the opening that has appeared on the board, he will try to play quickly and confidently." - former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik on his rival, the Norwegian star Magnus Carlsen.
101 ,,,t< 11 "LIV"t" ,I', Mill t.lV ( l1.1t1l1l"t, Jol1ll NUIlIl .Illd NI'l,'1 ',llott, wl10 II.",d this system in the 19Hos lo devdsLll ill'l effect. The idea behind White's lilt 1(' pawn move is threefold: to reinfof( (' the e4-pawn; to prevent the annoyinlj ...CDg4 after the white queen moves to d2; and finally to support the rapid ad vance of the g- and h-pawns, which can cause mayhem if Black respond~ slowly.
The assumption that experienced players make it all up at the board con~ tinues to capture the popular imagination at club level, but even the very best players in the world are often happy to give a nod to their inspiration. In the following game White credits a couple of Boris Spassky games for his desire to attack in a certain way:
Came 41 M.Carlsen-R.Ponomariov
Moscow 2009
Sicilian Defence 1 e4 cS 2 CDf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4CDxd4 CDf6 SCDc3 a6 The Najdorf Defence - although some of its exponents with the black pieces like to call it the Najdorf Attack. 6 i.e3 e6 7 f3 An indication that Carlsen is preparing an aggressive formation. White is benefiting from the past by using a setup known as the English Attack, named
160
7... bS S 'iVd2 CDbd7 9 g4 h6 10 0-0-0 CDes 11 'ife1 A slightly unusual move designed to maintain the tension. Carlsen revealed later that he played it in anticipation of the line 11 ... b4 12 CDce2, when 12 ...CDc4 no longer hits the queen so White can preserve his bishop with 13 i.f2. The main alternative is 11 i.d3. 11 ...'ifC7 12 h4 b4 13 CDce2 CDc4 14 CDf4!? 14 i.f2 i.e7 leads to equal chances. Instead, Carlsen is already thinking about possible sacrifices on e6 and invites Black to dare fork the knights with 14... es, when 15 CDdS CDxdS 16 exds
,'xdt] I /'~xdt] I,;.d / I H ~xbt] would
(J.tllll'~,
qiw' ilim a danyt'ruu~ attack. 14.. .I.))xe3 15 ~xe3 'i!:¥b6?! This time lS ... eS fails at the first hurdle, as after 16 ttJdS! tDxds 17 exds the es-pawn is suddenly pinned, leaving White with the better position. So perhaps lS ... Jte7 should be considered, which rules out the potential pin on the e-file and ... e6-eS becomes a serious threat. 16 Jtc4!
on e6, the attack guided by a very strong light-squared bishop was decisive in the long run." tf such a brilliant player as Carlsen can be positively influenced by the prospect of history repeating, it gives the rest of us hope in improving our games. 16 ...iVcs 17 iVb3
.tI"'l 1111'
~.tt
lili( t' of till' klliqilt
17 ... dS?!
The bishop is developed to get ready for a sacrifice on e6. Now I would say that such a move is logical because it adds another piece to the attack and gives White more options. However, Carlsen revealed that he was inspired to make the move after remembering his chess history. He wrote: "At this point, I was already dreaming of carrying out an attack in the style of the games Spassky-Polugaevsky, USSR Championship 19S8, and SpasskyTukmakov, USSR Championship 1973, games I had read about in the My Great Predecessors book on Spassky. In those
Perhaps Black is better off playing 17 ... iVes, although 18 tDdxe6 Jtxe6 19 tDxe6 fxe6 20 Jtxe6 puts him under a lot of pressure, since the bishop on e6 stops him from castling to safety on either side. 18 exds Jtd6 19 tDfxe6 Carlsen sees a winning move and saves time on the clock by going for it a practical decision with elements of cash in your chips, where a good line is chosen rather than spending ages looking for a perfect one. Carlsen reflected on this strategy in his notes to the game. He wrote: "One of many good moves. After I saw this one (tDfxe6), I
161
didn't really boLher 10 (.lIelll.Il(· 01 h('1 moves, as I thought that White is easily winning. 19 ttJdxe6! would have been even better. I discarded it because of 19 ... ..ixe6 when the knight is hanging. I would probably have chosen it if I had bothered to calculate two moves further: 20 ttJd3 'lWe3+ 21 ~b1 and White is completely winning." I would add that 19 .. .fxe6 is no better in view of 20 ttJg6 J::i.g8 21 dxe6 .itb7 22 J::i.xd6! 'lWxd6 23 J::i.d1 'lWcs 24 e7 and wins. 19 ...fxe6 20 dxe6 .ite7 21 'lWd3
A strong continuation, threatening 'lWg6+. The immediate 21 gs is also good; for example, 21 ... ttJhS (or 21 ... hxgs 22 'lWd3! 0-0 23 hxgs 'lWxgS+ 24 ~b1 followed by J::i.dg1) 22 ..ids J::i.a7 23 ..ic6+ ~f8 24 'lWd3 ..id6 25 'lWg6, threatening both 'lWxhs and 'lWe8 mate. 21 ..• 0-022 ..ib3 J::i.d8!? White was threatening 'lWg6 again and then ttJfS. Ponomariov understandably tries to stop that by attacking the knight, but White has too many tactical possibilities.
162
23 g5 !,;,h7 After 23 ... hxys 24 hxy5 ~xq')
I )',
\.~b1
and 26 %1dg1 Black has no hop(' III survival. 24 gxh6 'lWh5
25 ~e4! The queen steps out of the pin on the d-file and sets up numerous tactical options by targeting the a8-rook and steadying himself to play ttJfS or ttJc6. 25 ... 'lWxh6+ 26 ~b1 J::i.a7 27 ttJf5 J::i.xd1+ The attempt to defend by 27 ...'lWf6 fails miserably to 28 J::i.xd8+ ..ixd8 29 e7+ ~h8 30 'lWd5! and Black should give up. 28 J::i.xd1 'lWf6 29 J::i.d7! A clever way to press home the advantage, though White is spoilt for choice as 29 J::i.g1, threatening to take on g7, is also very strong. 29 .....ixd7 30 exd7+ ~f8 31 'lWd5 1-0 Black resigned since 'lWg8 mate cannot be prevented. Carlsen acknowledged that Spassky's games against Polugaevsky and
Illklllolkov W('f(' .Ill illllll('11l (',
',(I
h'l'.,
I.lk('.1 (Imer look allilern:
Came 42 B.Spassky-L.Polugaevsky USSR Championship, Riga 1958
Sicilian Defence 1 e4 c5 2 ct:Jf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 ct:Jxd4 ct:Jf6 5 ct:JC3 a6 6 ~g5ct:Jbd7!? This used to be the height offashion but has since been neglected to a certain extent. It was later determined that with a knight on d7 White can often carry out aggressive operations via the ds and e6-squares. 7.iC4 The bishop lines up on the a2-g8 diagonal which is a feature in many Sicilian lines and, of course, featured in the Carlsen game. 7,.:~a5 8 'lied2 e6 9 0-0-0 b5 10 ~b3 ~b7 11 .!:!.hel ~e7 12 f4
The bishop on b3 and knight on d4 are poised to wreak havoc by taking on
I hi~ i~ (1('.Illy 01 ljo()d 1lll'IllOry for Culsen who used the same idea. 12 ... 41C5 After 12 ... b4? White has a typical attacking trick for this variation in planting a knight on a surprising square: 13 ct:Jds!, when 13 ... exds 14 exds demonstrates the peril of leaving your king on its original square. Breaking the pin with 14... 'it'f8? is no help, as after 15 .!:!.xe7! 'it'xe7 16ct:Jc6+ .ixc6 17 dxc6, the threats of cxd7 and 'liexd6+ are enough to secure victory. 13 e5!? dxe5 14 ~xf6 ~xf6?! A slight inaccuracy, as now White has it all his own way. Instead, 14... gxf6 is the way to go, intending 15 fxes O-O-O! 16 exf6 .txf6 17 Vi'f2 .il..g7 with roughly equal chances. 15 fxe5 ~h4 16 g3 .te7 ('h.
17.ixe6! In their notes to the game, Spassky and the writer Dmitry Rovner commented: "One of those little combinations, which are often a necessary addition to the completion of an attack. The move in the game emphasizes the
163
drawback~ of
the
1Il0Vl'
c, .. hbd I (it
does not fight for the d4-square)." 17 ..•0-0?! Black tries to castle out of trouble. Instead: a) 17 .. .fxe6 (or 17 ...lZ'lxe6 18 lLlxe6 fxe6 19 iYd7+) 18 lLlxe6 lLlxe6 19 iYd7+ ~f7 20 lIfl+ ~g6 21 iYxe6+ ~hS 22 g4+ leads to mate. b) 17 ...b4 18 .txf7+! ~xf7 19 iYf4+ ~e8 20 lLlfS lLle6 21 lLld6+ .txd6 22 exd6 ~d7 23 iYf7+ also wins easily. c) 17 ... iYd8! (the best of the bunch, all thanks to the computer) 18 .txf7+ ~xf7 19 iYf4+ ~g8 20 lLlfS iYf8 21 e6 h6 22 h4 gives White excellent compensation. 18 .tb3 lIad8 19 iYf4 b4 20 lLla4!
(01 )
I oil nd)) ) I !j',I,' -"1 ~I' I ~)(I",
and I3lack
i~ ((·rt.dllly II('~ Lo 12 ~hS
I
,.9,'('7 (or
12 ... g6 13 .J;Lxg6+ hxg6 14 "¥Yxg6+ . . vJe7 15 .tg5+ liJf6 16 ~xf6+ ~d7 17 ~xd8+ wins) 13 .tg5+ liJf6 14 exf6+ gxf6 15 .txf6+! xf6 16 ~h4+ and wins.
Came 46 G.Kasparov-G. West Telex Olympiad 1977
Sicilian Defence 1 e4 C5 2 liJf3 liJf6 3 liJC3 e6 4 d4 cxd4 5 liJxd4 .tb4 6 e5 liJd5 7 .td2 liJxC3 8 bxc3 .tf8 9 .td3 d6 10 ~e2 liJd7? 12 liJc7+! 1-0
A pretty finish, as 12 ... ~xc7 allows 13 exd6 with a discovered check, and the black queen will leave the board. If opening tricks and traps are good enough for Kasparov, then the rest of us should pay attention to such ploys.
llliJxe6! ~b6
"It's better to be a little overconfident than the opposite." - Garry Kasparov.
169
Chapter Seven
Tricks of the Trade
"Kasparov came 3rd but almost fell." -
racehorses are sometimes named after chess players and this one was by Malaysian businessman Dato Tan Chin Nam, who also has Catalan Opening and Ruy Lopez in his stables. The racing colours: a chess board with yellow sleeves and a black and white checked cap. In this chapter I round things off with some practical pointers that I have observed or, more likely, used over the years. It is all very well to sharpen your attacking skills, but even if your play is stunning no one will remember if the result is wrong for you. Therefore, I present a few tips on: how to conduct yourself at tournament, the dreaded time-trouble scenario, psychology, incentives to keep playing in drawn positions, the internet, and why you should turn off your phone.
. .IS ••••••I Th e wmner Now that everyone is primed and ready to prepare to attack, it is right to men170
tion that some etiquette is required when on the verge of victory.
A.Kotov-Y.Averbakh USSR Championship, Moscow 1948
Black to play
Yuri Averbakh finished off a pretty game with a neat finish, but it is what he said to his opponent that haunted him - to such an extent that fifty years later he was still apologizing in his
hook of b(".1
IJoIlIlI".
I h' wroll': "I-jere I
( ou Id not re~lr d i t1 rlly~e1f and I declared 'it is mate in five moves!'" 4s .. :iVf3+ Actually, he could have declared mate in three: 45 .. .lbf2+ 46 ~g2 f3+! 47 ,,*tel 'iiel mate was quicker. 46l:Ig2lbf2+ 47 ~g1l:Ie1+ 0-1 White did not want to see the prediction come true and avoided 48 3i.fl lbh3+ and 49 ... l:Ixfl mate.
I have also witnessed a club player suddenly announcing a forthcoming checkmate, which not only surprised his club mates but didn't seem to please his opponent from a rival club either, who seemed to go white with anger. It turned out in his case, and no doubt Averbakh too, that it stems from a love of correspondence chess. It seems bizarre now but in the old days, before email, players might have to wait for weeks for their post to arrive from some far off country. In an effort to speed up the process they would often write down any forced sequence of moves to save time and money. Hence the standard reason for declaring a checkmate. You can hardly blame them when you consider that the first World Correspondence Champion, the Australian Cecil Purdy, won the title in 1953 three years after he had posted his first move.
Watch the clock "We like to think." - Garry Kasparov, when asked by chess writer and player
Ilan~
Rt't' why ht' and Karpov yet into
time-trouble. The best thing to do with timetrouble is to make sure, if it happens, that your opponent is the one to experience it. I am guilty of sometimes slipping into the situation where I have to rush my moves and then the result becomes a lottery, but I have managed over the years to reduce my losses due to this fault. Here are some hints. 1. Have a safe move available.
There are occasions when the player with more time fails to apply pressure and just makes an improving move, so it is useful to have a safe move ready. 2. Look for the trick.
The temptation for the player with more time is to play for a trap, on the assumption that his opponent will miss it. This is a transparent approach that can be identified at an early stage and stopped. 3. Find a plan.
While your opponent is thinking, tick off the first two rules and find a constructive plan. Having a problem with time-trouble leads to so many games being decided by blunders. There is a tendency to overcompensate and play quicker than usual, with less time spent on critical positions, and it is not possible to see
171
every pm~ihility ill IIH' ~p.H(' 01, ''''Y, thirty seconds. There is an argument that, because everyone likes to play quick games with friends or on the internet, people should be used it. The flaw in that reasoning is that if you lose on the internet you can play again within minutes, whereas after a fourhour marathon you really don't want to throwaway your hard earned advantage in a matter of seconds. I should emphasize that it can happen to anybody, such as in the following heavyweig ht encounter:
01
',('II'lll'd
1/,11111",
11111111.111
II'VI',II',
whdl w .. ~ qoillq IIIIoIHjll lIi~ IIlilld: "I
saw that White could simply takt' till' bishop, but with all black pieces bar till' queen being under threat I did nol think it very likely that White would take the piece that was only being at tacked once. And Amason did lose hi~ bearings in the last thirty seconds."
J.Arnason-J.Timman Reykjavik 1987
Black to play
41 Mxf7? The simplest win is 41 MXC5 when the computer declares a forced mate. For example: 41 ... Mg7 42l:tc8+ ~xc8 (or 42 .. .lbxc8 43 lbc6 mate) 43 dxe7+ ctJo 44 ~xc8+ and it is becoming embarrassing for Black. 41 ...~xd6+ 42 ~xd6+ .itxd6+ 43 ctJh1 e3 44 ctJg1 .itcS 0-1 The position after 45 ctJf1 is drawn, but here White lost on time.
40 ....itcs White is in desperate time-trouble and, like any good practical player, Timman comes up with a bizarre way to confuse him, in this case by allowing him to take another piece. In his book
An attacking player may be pleased if he can salvage something from a lost position, but my opinion that timetrouble can fog the brain of anyone is borne out by the following example, in
172
Missed Opportunity
wllil II
1111,· ""rll',,d('r [),Ivid BromLei" I.lII,·d Itl I' Lo I.lTTy on, because he has to move fast, while I have nothing to lose.
I had this in my mind when reached the following position:
52 •.• ~e6 53 Mb6+ ~d7 54 Mh6 Ma4 55 Mb6 ttJC5 56 Mb4 Ma3 57 ~d4 ttJe6+ 58 ~C4 Mal 59 Mb5 Mel 60 ~d3
E.Levi-G.Lane
Australian Championship, Cammeray 2010
White is keen to hold on to the pawns, but even if he gave them all away it would still be a draw. At this stage a small group of spectators had gathered, as it was the last game being played in the tournament. This added extra pressure on my opponent, who knew everyone expected a draw, but with the clock ticking White was in two minds as to what to do. 60 ...~c6 61 Mb4 ttJC5+ 62 ~d2 kthl 63 ~e3 Mh3+ 64 ~d4 Md3+
White to play 52Mb5
My opponent, an experienced tournament player, now offered me a draw which I was tempted to take. Yes, I could dream of a finish as in the VogtWirthensohn game, but more likely it would end up as rook and knight vs. rook which is a fairly straightforward draw. Still, how could I lose? Such an ending would offer me a chance to torture my opponent in a risk-free environment. Now add in the vital component of my opponent's time-trouble
65 ~C4??
White is still obsessed with defending his pawns and gets into a right mess. Instead 65 ~e5 Mxc3 should lead to a draw. 65 ...Me30-1
White has walked into a mating net and has no good defence against 65 ...l:!.xe4 mate.
18.1
You tend to 1>(' IlHky in
